High Survivability of Cheese Whey-Grown Rhizobium meliloti Cells upon Exposure to Physical Stress

Whey, a by-product of the dairy industry, has been found to protect the rhizobia cells during freezing and thawing. Cells of rhizobia grown on whey sustained freezing better at −18°C than did cells grown on mannitol or sucrose. Suspensions of cells grown on whey or mannitol that were suspended in whey performed equally well at −18 and −80°C, with 94 and 100% survival, respectively. Whey-grown rhizobia in pellets withstood desiccation better than did their mannitol-grown equivalents. Rhizobia that were grown on whey and then inoculated onto commercial peat showed a survival rate of 100% after 23 weeks at −4°C. Whey-grown cells in peat performed better at various temperatures during storage, even when they were exposed to desiccation, than did mannitol-grown cells in peat. Whey, therefore, offers interesting possibilities as a Rhizobium protectant for the inoculum industry.

[1]  F. O'Gara,et al.  Production and storage of Rhizobium leguminosarum cell concentrates for use as inoculants , 1985 .

[2]  B. W. Strijdom,et al.  Effectiveness of Rhizobium Strains Used in Inoculants after Their Introduction into Soil , 1985, Applied and environmental microbiology.

[3]  M. Alexander,et al.  Mineral Soils as Carriers for Rhizobium Inoculants , 1984, Applied and environmental microbiology.

[4]  R. Kremer,et al.  Effects of Carrier and Temperature on Survival of Rhizobium spp. in Legume Inocula: Development of an Improved Type of Inoculant , 1983, Applied and environmental microbiology.

[5]  M. Alexander,et al.  Influence of Soil Characteristics on the Survival of Rhizobium in Soils Undergoing Drying1 , 1982 .

[6]  B. W. Strijdom,et al.  Competitive Abilities of Rhizobium meliloti Strains Considered to Have Potential as Inoculants , 1982, Applied and environmental microbiology.

[7]  B. W. Strijdom,et al.  Survival of fast- and slow-growing Rhizobium spp under conditions of relatively mild desiccation , 1980 .

[8]  H. Antoun,et al.  EFFETS DES SOUCHES DE RHIZOBIUM MELILOTI ET DES COUPES SUCCESSIVES DE LA LUZERNE (MEDICAGO SATIVA) SUR LA FIXATION SYMBIOTIQUE D’AZOTE , 1977 .

[9]  K. Marshall,et al.  Some factors affecting the survival of root-nodule bacteria on desiccation , 1977 .

[10]  M. Alexander,et al.  Survival of soil bacteria during prolonged desiccation. , 1973 .

[11]  K. Marshall.  Survival of root-nodule bacteria in dry soils exposed to high temperatures , 1964 .

[12]  S. Ota,et al.  Some factors affecting preservability of freeze-dried bacteria , 1961, Journal of Hygiene.

[13]  C. S. Gager.  Root Nodule Bacteria and Leguminous Plants , 1940 .