Effect of molecular hydrogen and carbon dioxide on chemo-organotrophic growth of Acetobacterium woodii and Clostridium aceticum.

During growth of Acetobacterium woodii on fructose, glucose or lactate in a medium containing less than 0.04% bicarbonate, molecular hydrogen was evolved up to 0.1 mol per mol of substrate. Under an H2-atmosphere growth of A. woodii with organic substrates was completely inhibited whereas under an H2/CO2-atmosphere rapid growth occurred. Under these conditions H2 + CO2 and the organic substrate were utilized simultaneously indicating that A. woodii was able to grow mixotrophically. Clostridium aceticum differed from A. woodii in that H2 was only evolved in the stationary phase, that the inhibition by H2 was observed at pH 8.5 but not at pH 7.5, anf that in the presence of fructose and H2 + CO2 only fructose was utilized. The hydrogenase activity of fructose-grown cells of C. aceticum amounted to only 12% of that of H2 + CO2-grown cells. With A. woodii a corresponding decrease of the activity of this enzyme was not observed.