16th Students' Congress of SCTM

Typical Contaminations Found During Isolation and Growing of Purple Phototrophic Bacteria

Not scheduled

20m

Amphitheatre (Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy, Skopje )

Speaker

Viktor Cicimov (Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy, „Ss. Cyril and Methodius“ University, Skopje)

Description

Purple phototrophic bacteria (PPB) are widely studied for their diverse metabolic capabilities and applications in biotechnology. However, successful isolation and cultivation of PPB are frequently hindered by contamination from various microorganisms. Typical contaminants include fast-growing heterotrophic bacteria such as Pseudomonas spp. and Bacillus spp., which outcompete PPB in nutrient-rich media2. Fungal contaminants, especially yeast and molds, also pose challenges during prolonged cultivation3. Additionally, phototrophic green sulfur bacteria and cyanobacteria may co-isolate due to overlapping ecological niches, complicating purity assessment5. Contamination origins are often linked to sample sources, handling procedures, and media composition. Careful selection of selective media, sterile technique, and incubation conditions are critical to minimize contamination4. This study reviews typical contaminants encountered during PPB isolation, discusses their identification, and suggests strategies to enhance culture purity, improving reproducibility and reliability of downstream applications1.
Keywords: purple phototrophic bacteria, contamination, isolation
References
1. Dhar, K., Venkateswarlu, K., & Megharaj, M. (2023). Anoxygenic phototrophic purple non-sulfur bacteria: Tool for bioremediation of hazardous environmental pollutants. Environmental Science and Pollution Research.
2. Imhoff, J. F. (2017). Purple photosynthetic bacteria in aquatic and terrestrial habitats: ecological and biotechnological aspects. Microbiology Reviews, 29(2), 117–124. https://doi.org/10.1128/mr.29.2.117-124.2005
3. Madigan, M. T., & Jung, D. O. (2019). Anoxygenic phototrophic bacteria. Encyclopedia of Microbiology. Elsevier.
4. Morrison, H. M., & Bose, A. (2024). Purple non-sulfur bacteria for biotechnological applications. Journal of Industrial Microbiology & Biotechnology, 52. https://doi.org/10.1093/jimb/kuae052
5. Panwichian, S. (2010). Isolation of purple nonsulfur bacteria for the removal of heavy metals from shrimp ponds. Electronic Journal of Biotechnology, 4. https://doi.org/10.2225/volXX-issueX-fulltext-XX