POLYHYDROXYALKANOATE ANALYSIS IN AZOSPIRILLUM-BRASILENSE

The considerable industrial interest in the qualitative and quantitati ve production of polyhydroxyalkanoates in microorganisms has led to th e characterization of those synthesized in the nitrogen-fixing bacteri a Azospirillum brasilense and Azotobacter paspali. In contrast to some other bacterial species, Azospirillum brasilense does not produce cop olymers of hydroxyalkanoates when grown under the different carbon sou rces assayed, namely n-alkanoic acids, hydroxyalkanoates, and sugars w ith varying C:N ratios. Rather, only homopolymers of polyhydroxybutyra te were detected, comprising up to 70% of the cell dry mass, No copoly mers were detected in Azotobacter paspali. Quantitative analyses of po ly(beta-hydroxybutyrate) are also presented.