Impact of the hydrogen partial pressure on lactate degradation in a coculture of Desulfovibrio sp. G11 and Methanobrevibacter arboriphilus DH1.

In this study, the impact of the hydrogen partial pressure on lactate degradation was investigated in a coculture of Desulfovibrio sp. G11 and Methanobrevibacter arboriphilus DH1. To impose a change of the hydrogen partial pressure, formate was added to the reactor. Hydrogen results from the bioconversion of formate besides lactate in the liquid phase. In the presence of a hydrogen-consuming methanogen, this approach allows for a better estimation of low dissolved hydrogen concentrations than under conditions where hydrogen is supplied externally from the gas phase, resulting in a more accurate determination of kinetic parameters. A change of the hydrogen partial pressure from 1,200 to 250 ppm resulted in a threefold increase of the biomass-specific lactate consumption rate. The 50 % inhibition constant of hydrogen on lactate degradation was determined as 0.692 ± 0.064 μM dissolved hydrogen (831 ± 77 ppm hydrogen in the gas phase). Moreover, for the first time, the maximum biomass-specific lactate consumption rate of Desulfovibrio sp. G11 (0.083 ± 0.006 mol-Lac/mol-XG11/h) and the affinity constant for hydrogen uptake of Methanobrevibacter arboriphilus DH1 (0.601 ± 0.022 μM dissolved hydrogen) were determined. Contrary to the widely established view that the biomass-specific growth rate of a methanogenic coculture is determined by the hydrogen-utilizing partner; here, it was found that the hydrogen-producing bacterium determined the biomass-specific growth rate of the coculture grown on lactate and formate.