Microörganisms Concerned in the Decomposition of Celluloses in the Soil

Abstract

The decomposition of celluloses is carried on in the soil, and in nature in general, by a large number of different organisms. These belong morphologically to the bacteria, the fungi, and the actinomycetes. The organisms decomposing cellulose, especially the bacteria, vary not only in their morphological, but also in their physiological characteristics. The ability to decompose cellulose seems to be widespread among the fungi and actinomycetes, although some fungi are unable to decompose cellulose at all, while others can readily utilize celluloses as the only source of energy. The growth of actinomycetes, even in the case of those forms which are capable of breaking down celluloses in the absence of other sources of energy, is so limited and the transformation of the cellulose is so small that one might venture the suggestion that they play a rather limited r6le in this process. The bacteria capable of decomposing cellulose fall, however, into a few phy~iologically distinct groups. Physiologically they have been classified as (a) aerobic, (b) anaerobic, (c) thermophilic and (d) denitrifying forms. Morphologically they are (a) sporeforming rods, (b) non-spore forming rods, (c) spirochaetes and vibrios. A few, like the Spirochaeta cytophaga Hutchinson and Clayton, can grow only on cellulose media, while others, like the organisms isolated by Kellerman, McBeth and their associates, seem 1o be able to grow also on other media free from IPaper No. 250 of the Journal Series, New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Stations, Departme nt of Soil Chemistry and Bacteriology.

The microbiology of farmyard manure decomposition in soil. III. Decomposition of the cells of micro-organisms. (with seven text-figures.)

“…The relatively strongest development of actinomycetes took place in soil + Polyporus, where the colonies of actinomycetes were more than half as numerous as those of the bacteria. These results upon the whole support the opinion expressed by Waksman and Skinner (43), that one of the chief functions of the actinomycetes in the soil is the decomposition of dead microbial, particularly fungal, substance. This agrees well with the fact that actinomycetes nourish abundantly after partial sterilisation of soil (Hiltner and Stormer(i7), Waksman and Starkey (44)).…”

Precise micromolar-level glucose determination using a glucose test strip for quick and approximate millimolar-level estimation

“…In the drying processes, fungi, being more tolerant of dryness than bacteria, 28 were likely to have decomposed the cellulose originally contained in the exploited soil. 29 On the other hand, in the less aerobic suspension, bacteria could have contributed to cellulose decomposition rather than fungi. 30…”

Cellulose Decomposition in Soil Burial Beds

“…These data emphasize that a short supply of available (inorganic) nitrogen in a soil may restrict the activity of the cellulose decomposing microflora. Other investigators (Jensen, 1931;Waksman and Skinner, 1926;and White et al, 1934) have found that treatments with ammonium or nitrate nitrogen effectively increased the rate of cellulose decomposition in soils. The extent to which the cellulolytic microflora is dependent on inorganic nitrogen in the soil is a question of considerable interest.…”