Robust analysis reveals nutrient-dependent accumulation of biopolymers in a wastewater-isolated bacterium, suggesting strong potential for sustainable materials.
Key Points
The aim is to characterize polyhydroxyalkanoates produced by a wastewater bacterium and assess the accuracy of various analytical methods.
Analyzed polyhydroxyalkanoates using fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry for visualization and assessment.
Employed single-cell Raman spectroscopy for polymer identification, gas chromatography-flame ionization detection for quantification, and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry for compositional analysis.
Used nitrogen-limited and control cultures to compare nutrient effects on biopolymer accumulation.
Fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry indicated nutrient-dependent accumulation, with up to 7-fold higher fluorescence in nitrogen-limited cultures.
Single-cell Raman spectroscopy revealed coexistence of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) and poly(3-hydroxyvalerate) alongside glycogen-like polymers.
Gas chromatography-flame ionization detection found short-chain polyhydroxyalkanoates constituted 28% of biomass in nitrogen-limited cultures.