The use of a metabolically structured model in the study of growth, nitrification, and denitrification by Thiosphaera pantotropha

Thiosphaera pantotropha is capable of aerobic heterotrophic nitrification and both aerobic and anaerobic denitrification. These phenomena have been studied in acetate-limited aerobic and anaerobic continuous cultures supplied with ammonia and nitrate. The internal reaction rates were defined, based on biochemical knowledge. The observable external conversion rates are related through a linear equation on the basis of the specified internal reaction rates. The linear equation is a Pirt relation extended for microbial systems with multiple electron donors (acetate and ammonia) and electron acceptors (oxygen and nitrate). The coefficients in this equation were estimated from the continuous culture measurements, and are composed of parameters involved in ATP production and consumption by the microorganism. It is shown that with realistic values for these parameters, the metabolically structured model describes the aerobic as well as the anaerobic experiments.