Thermophilic Bacterium isolated on n-Tetradecane

Abstract

GROWTH at the expense of hydrocarbons occurs in a wide variety of micro-organisms; Fuhs¹ listed more than 100 yeasts, bacteria and fungi with this characteristic. Scant information is available concerning the influence of temperature on microbial hydrocarbon oxidation. Four strains of micrococci have been checked for their ability to grow at the expense of octane, nonane and decane at 20° and 25° C (ref. 2). At the lower temperature there was good utilization of decane but none of the strains grew on this hydrocarbon at 25° C. Possibly such differences in growth response are related to an increase in vapour pressure of the n-alkane with an increase in temperature. According to Allen³, most if not all of the most important types of metabolism carried on by mesophilic bacteria can also be found among thermophilic bacteria. A variety of carbon sources can be utilized by thermophilic bacteria⁴, and some years ago a general survey of thermophilic bacteria was made using enrichment culturing⁵. No bacterium was selected from soil, fresh water or marine mud, or dry plant material when paraffin served as the carbon source. Presumably the paraffin was a mixture of long-chain saturated hydrocarbons.