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BISC209/F13: Lab3: Difference between revisions
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→Community Physiological Profile of Starch Digesters, Cellulolytic Bacteria, and Phosphate Solubilizing Bacteria: Background
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Degradation of complex carbon containing materials such as leaves and other plant matter provides an important source of a wide range of organic molecules to heterotrophic members of a soil community. Cellulose and starch are two complex carbohydrates that can be important sources of carbon, if broken down to a simpler, useable form. Many, but not all, soil bacteria contain the enzymes necessary to play this important role. It is not surprising that bacteria and other microbes are able to digest molecules associated with plants since plant roots are always present in the soil and plant parts become part of the soil litter that adds organic matter. <BR> | Degradation of complex carbon containing materials such as leaves and other plant matter provides an important source of a wide range of organic molecules to heterotrophic members of a soil community. Cellulose and starch are two complex carbohydrates that can be important sources of carbon, if broken down to a simpler, useable form. Many, but not all, soil bacteria contain the enzymes necessary to play this important role. It is not surprising that bacteria and other microbes are able to digest molecules associated with plants since plant roots are always present in the soil and plant parts become part of the soil litter that adds organic matter. <BR> | ||
'''Starch Hydrolysis''': Starch is a common plant storage compound. It is a complex polysaccharide carbohydrate of sugar (glucose) molecules joined by glycosidic bonds. | '''Starch Hydrolysis''': Starch is a common plant storage compound. It is a complex polysaccharide carbohydrate of sugar (glucose) molecules joined by glycosidic bonds. When the hydrolytic exoenzyme amylase is secreted, the starch in the surrounding environment will be degraded. Microbes capable of degrading starch extracellularly to small mono or disaccharide products allow nearby non-amylase producers in the community to take up the smaller digested products and to produce energy (ATP) from this abundant raw material. <BR> | ||
'''Cellulolytic Activity''': Cellulose is an organic compound with the chemical formula (C<sub>6</sub>H<sub>10</sub>O<sub>5</sub>)<sub>n</sub>. It is a polysaccharide consisting of several hundred to over ten thousand linear, linked β(1,4) D-glucose units. Cellulose is a primary structural component of the cell wall of green plants, many forms of algae and some other types of organisms. Some species of bacteria secrete cellulose to form biofilms. Cellulose is the most common organic compound on Earth comprising 40 to 60% of plant residues. <BR> | '''Cellulolytic Activity''': Cellulose is an organic compound with the chemical formula (C<sub>6</sub>H<sub>10</sub>O<sub>5</sub>)<sub>n</sub>. It is a polysaccharide consisting of several hundred to over ten thousand linear, linked β(1,4) D-glucose units. Cellulose is a primary structural component of the cell wall of green plants, many forms of algae and some other types of organisms. Some species of bacteria secrete cellulose to form biofilms. Cellulose is the most common organic compound on Earth comprising 40 to 60% of plant residues. <BR> | ||
