Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology

, Volume 82, Issue 4, pp 785–792 | Cite as

Optimization of preservation conditions of As (III) bioreporter bacteria

  • Anke Kuppardt
  • Antonis Chatzinotas
  • Uta Breuer
  • Jan Roelof van der Meer
  • Hauke Harms
Methods
First Online:
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:

Abstract

Long-term preservation of bioreporter bacteria is essential for the functioning of cell-based detection devices, particularly when field application, e.g., in developing countries, is intended. We varied the culture conditions (i.e., the NaCl content of the medium), storage protection media, and preservation methods (vacuum drying vs. encapsulation gels remaining hydrated) in order to achieve optimal preservation of the activity of As (III) bioreporter bacteria during up to 12 weeks of storage at 4°C. The presence of 2% sodium chloride during the cultivation improved the response intensity of some bioreporters upon reconstitution, particularly of those that had been dried and stored in the presence of sucrose or trehalose and 10% gelatin. The most satisfying, stable response to arsenite after 12 weeks storage was obtained with cells that had been dried in the presence of 34% trehalose and 1.5% polyvinylpyrrolidone. Amendments of peptone, meat extract, sodium ascorbate, and sodium glutamate preserved the bioreporter activity only for the first 2 weeks, but not during long-term storage. Only short-term stability was also achieved when bioreporter bacteria were encapsulated in gels remaining hydrated during storage.

Keywords

Bioreceptor Arsenic Preservation Storage 
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Notes

Acknowledgement

The authors like to thank the Saxon State Ministry of the Environment and Agriculture and the CITE research program for funding.

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Copyright information

© Springer-Verlag 2009

Authors and Affiliations

  • Anke Kuppardt
    • 1
  • Antonis Chatzinotas
    • 1
  • Uta Breuer
    • 1
  • Jan Roelof van der Meer
    • 2
  • Hauke Harms
    • 1
  1. 1.Department Environmental Microbiology, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental ResearchUFZLeipzigGermany
  2. 2.Department of Fundamental MicrobiologyUniversity of LausanneLausanneSwitzerland

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