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Microbial Utilization of Carbon-14-Glucose in Aerobic vs. Anaerobic Denitrifying Soils

Dep. of Agronomy, Univ. of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40546

*Corresponding author.

ABSTRACT

In order to better characterize the behavior of denitrifying bacteria in soil and their effect on cycling of C and N, the rate of consumption and the extent of microbial assimilation of glucose were compared in aerobic and anaerobic denitrifying soils. Three soils (Bruno, a Udifluvent; Maury silt loam, and Paleudalf; and Lanton, a Haplaquoll) were amended with ¹⁴C-glucose and excess NO^-₃, then incubated for 3 to 7 d in air or anaerobically. Transient accumulations of soluble, nonglucose intermediates occurred in both aerobic and anaerobic soils. Aerobic substrate consumption rates were greater than anaerobic denitrifying substrate consumption rates. Anaerobic substrate consumption rate varied among soils more than aerobic rates, but the ratio of aerobic to anaerobic rates for a sample was not related to the presumed propensity of that soil type to denitrify. When all labelled glucose had been depleted, 8 to 10% more of the label had been mineralized to CO₂ in the anaerobic than in aerobic incubations, suggesting lower efficiency of assimilation under denitrifying conditions. However, the effect of aerobic vs. denitrifying respiration on assimilation efficiency was small relative to differences among soil samples and the effects of substrate-to-soil ratio.

The investigation reported in this paper (no. 88-3-237) is in connection with a project of the KY Agric. Exp. Stn. and is published with the approval of the Director. This work was supported by a grant, BSR-8604964, from the NSF.

Received for publication September 23, 1988.

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