EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF THIOBACTERIA AND DENITRIFYING BACTERIA DEVELOPMENT IN ANAEROBIC AND AEROBIC CONDITIONS

Changes in the thione and denitrifying bacteria abundances and growth rates as related to experimental aerobic and anaerobic conditions were studied in several Sevastopol Bays (Black Sea, Ukraine) for 4.5 months. In the anaerobic culture of thione bacteria the numbers increased from 10 super(2) to 10 super(5) cells per g sediment. Compared with the aerobic bacterial abundances by the end of the experiment, higher estimates were obtained in the thione bacteria isolated from the sediment collected in the most polluted bay. The denitrifying bacterial group showed intensive growth both under aerobic and anaerobic conditions; their abundance measured at the beginning and at the end of the experiment insignificantly differed between the aerobic and anaerobic media. Denitrifying bacterial growth was accompanied by vigorous gas formation. Compared with anaerobic, aerobic conditions induced more intensive alkalisation of the medium.