Azospirillum brasilense (strains REC3, RLC1, PEC5) were root inoculated in strawberry plants of the cultivars 'Milsei', 'Selva' and 'Camarosa' to assess plant growth-promoting effects. The bacteria were able to promote plant growth (expressed as root length, root area, and dry weight of root and shoot), depending on the genotypes of plants and bacteria used, whereas the stolon production (3-4) depended only on the strawberry cultivar. To explain whether root exudates plays any role on the growth-promotion observed herein, total protein and sugar were determined, and chemotaxis properties were evaluated. The strains showed positive chemotaxis toward the root exudates, being influenced by the total sugars content, suggesting that the latter plays an important role in the chemotaxis effect and may contribute to enhance the root capacity to recruit azospirilla from rhizosphere, thus improving the growth-promoting effect exerted by these bacteria.
A two-stage two-stream chemostat system and a two-stage two-stream immobilized upflow packed-bed reactor system were used for the study of lactic acid production by Lactobacillus casei subsp casei. A mixing ratio of D12/D2 = 0.5 (D = dilution rate) resulted in optimum production, making it possible to generate continuously a broth with high lactic acid concentration (48 g l-1) and with a lowered overall content of initial yeast extract (5 g l-1), half the concentration supplied in the one-step process. In the two-stage chemostat system, with the first stage at pH 5.5 and 37 degrees C and a second stage at pH 6.0, a temperature change from 40 degrees C to 45 degrees C in the second stage resulted in a 100% substrate consumption at an overall dilution rate of 0.05 h-1. To increase the cell mass in the system, an adhesive strain of L. casei was used to inoculate two packed-bed reactors, which operated with two mixed feedstock streams at the optimal conditions found above. Lactic acid fermentation started after a lag period of cell growth over foam glass particles. No significant amount of free cells, compared with those adhering to the glass foam, was observed during continuous lactic acid production. The extreme values, 57.5 g l-1 for lactic acid concentration and 9.72 g l-1 h-1 for the volumetric productivity, in upflow packed-bed reactors were higher than those obtained for free cells (48 g l-1 and 2.42 g l-1 h-1) respectively and the highest overall L(+)-lactic acid purity (96.8%) was obtained in the two-chemostat system as compared with the immobilized-cell reactors (93%).
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.