Thiospirillum Cultivation

Thiospirillum is a spiral-shaped bacteria that reproduces in dichotomy and moves with polar hairs. Under certain unfavorable circumstances, cells may not move and become almost regular aggregates surrounded by mucus. Thiospirillum belongs to Gram-negative bacteria. The bacteria contain chlorophyll a and carotenoids, both of which are located on the inner membrane of the sac. There is no air bubble distribution in the cell, which is an anaerobic bacteria.

Thiospirillum can perform photosynthesis in the presence of hydrogen sulfide. In fact, they produce elemental sulfur (as an intermediate oxidation product) and are stored in cells in a spherical shape. In this process, molecular hydrogen can act as an electron donor. During photosynthesis, molecular oxygen is not released. Because of photosynthetic pigment, the cell suspension presents different tones from orange-brown to purple-red.

Cultivation Services of Thiospirillum

Thiospirillum sanguineum

The cells of Thiospirillum sanguineum are cylindrical, sometimes thinner at the end, and spiral-shaped circles. The bacteria are 2.5-4.0 microns wide and 10-100 microns long, usually 40 microns. There are certain differences in the shape and size of different bacterial spirals. Generally, the length of a spiral of bacteria is 15-40 microns, and the width is 1/2 to 1/10 of the length. Polar flagella used for sports, usually clustered at the two ends. Individual cells are rose to purple-red, like the color of Chromatiumokenii cells, which may contain okenone carotenoids. The microflora showed a deep purple-red color. The natural living environment of Thiospirillum sanguineum is usually sludge or stagnant water that is exposed to light and contains hydrogen sulfide, preferably seawater containing hydrogen sulfide under light exposure. It is rare in sulphur-containing spring water.

Thiospirillum jenense

Thiospirillum jenense cells are 2.5-4.0 microns wide, columnar, sometimes with dots or spiral loops at the end, generally 30-40 microns in length, and can reach 100 microns. Generally, the length of a spiral of bacteria is 15-40 microns, and the depth is 3-7 microns. The bacterium has polar flagella, sometimes in clusters at the two ends. The color of individual cells was golden yellow; the cell suspension was orange-brown.

Figure 1. The giant phototrophic bacterium Thiospirillum jenense.

Thiospirillum jenense belongs to obligate photoautotrophic bacteria and is anaerobic. The cultivation process requires the addition of VB12 to the medium. The optimum pH of the medium is 7.0-7.5; the growth temperature: 20°-25°C. Photosynthetic electron donor: sulfide or sulfur.

Thiospirillum Rosenbergii

The cell size of Thiospirillum rosenbergii is 1.5-2.5×4-12 microns; the cell is in the shape of a circle, the circle length is 6-7.5 microns, and the width can be variable to 3-4 microns. The color of a single cell is light yellow-orange, and when the sulfur storage level is high, the cell is dark yellow-orange. The agglomerated cells are pink. The natural living environment of Thiospirillum rosenbergii is usually exposed to hydrogen sulfide containing mud or still sea water and fresh water.

Why Choose Us?

The culture of Thiospirilltum requires specific formulations of growth media for use in cloning, plasmid DNA preparation, and protein expression. Creative Biogene offers a selection of bacterial growth media and custom services for your specific application. If you are interested in our microbial anaerobic and aerobic culture platform, please contact us for more details.

Reference

1. Bergey's Manual of Systematic Bacteriology Book Review Int. J. of Syst. Bact.; July 1985, p. 39.