1ESC 590

Microbial Growth & Metabolism Reading Assignment Soil Microbiology: An exploratory Approach

Chapters 1 & 2

Biological Oxidations

One of the fundamental properties of living organisms is their requirement of energy. Phototrophs, meet their energy requirements by absorption of a quanta of solar radiation.

Chemotrophs obtain energy needs by oxidation of preformed organic molecules.

Biological Oxidations
Biological oxidations reactions are frequently dehydrogenation reactions. Biological oxidation reactions almost always involve two electron transfers. In chemotrophic energy metabolism the ultimate energy acceptor of electrons is frequently oxygen.

Biological Oxidations
The electrons are generally passed to the final electron acceptor through intermediate electrons acceptors In most biological oxidations, the immediate electron acceptor is one of several coenzymes.-specialized molecules that function specifically as carriers of electrons.

Biological Oxidations
The most common coenzymes are NAD, + NADP+ and FAD Aerobic energy metabolism involves stepwise process collectively called respiration. Under anaerobic conditions, oxygen is not available as electron acceptor, and the electrons are passed instead to some organic or inorganic molecule .

Biological Oxidations
Under anaerobic conditions, oxygen is not available as electron acceptor, and the electrons are passed instead to some organic or inorganic molecule . All anaerobic processes are called fermentations and they are usually further identified in terms of the principal end product i.e. the reduced form of the organic or inorganic electron acceptor.

Biological Oxidations
Organisms with an absolute requirement for oxygen are strict or obligate aerobes. Most higher animals are in this category. Strict or Obligate anaerobes cannot tolerate the presence of oxygen. Most are bacteria , including soil Clostridia and those responsible for denitrification

Biological Oxidations

Facultative organisms are those which can exist anaerobically, extracting energy from glucose (or other organic substrates) by fermentative processes, but which can also function in the presence of oxygen, in which case they carry out the full respiratory sequence.

Comparision of Fermentation, Aerobic Respiration, and Anaerobic Respiration.

Energy-Producing Process Fermentation Aerobic respiration Growth Conditions

Aerobic or anaerobic Aerobic

Anaerobic respiration

Anaerobic

Biological Oxidations

All classes of energy yielding reactions can be classed under four main groups: Photosynthetic Respiration Fermentative reactions Chemoautotrophic reactions.

1. 2. 3. 4.

Photosynthetic Reactions
Photosynthesis may be defined as a series of reactions which utilize solar energy to convert CO2 into cellular components. It is important both to the carbon and oxygen cycle. It is also the chemical source of oxygen which is absolutely required by aerobic organisms.

Respiration
Respiration is properly defined as the oxidation of organic molecules with molecular oxygen serving as the ultimate electron acceptor. The result of respiration is the complete degradation of organic molecules to the products, CO2 and H2O.

Fermentation Reactions

In fermentation reactions, organic molecules are oxidized with the electrons being given to electron acceptors other than O2. One common fact concerning each of the classes of fermentation is that the source of electrons involved is organic compounds.

Fermentation Reactions
The distinguishing feature of the fermentative reactions, however is the nature of the electron acceptors and the products formed. The yield of energy obtained from a fermentative reaction is much less compared to that of respiration contained in a given substance.

Biological Oxidations
Class
Photoautotrophic (Photolithotroph) H O, H S, H R 2 2 2 Respiration (organothrops) CO 2

Electron Donor

Electron Acceptor

Organic Compounds

Biological Oxidations
Class Electron Donor Electron Acceptor

Heterofermentative or Multifermentative

Organic Compounds

Same molecule o fragment of it.

Organic Compounds

Different organic compound or CO

Biological Oxidations
Class Electron Donor Electron

Acceptor

Isofermentative

Organic Compounds

Another molecule of substrate

Inorganic compound

Anaerobic Respiration

Organic Compounds

Concept of pe

Just as pH is based on moles L-1, redox potential can also be expressed in terms of pe (-log of electron activity) which is compatible with units of moles per liter. In this way, electrons can be treated as other reactants and products so that both can be expressed by a single equilibrium constant.

Concept of pe

pe = -log (e-) It measures the relative tendency of a solution to accept electrons.

Reducing solutions have low pe and tend to donate electrons to species placed in the solution.

Concept of pe

Oxidizing solutions have high pe and tend to accept electrons from species placed in the solution.

Large values of pe favor the existence of electron- poor (i.e) oxidized species just as large values of pH favor the existence of proton poor species (i.e bases)

Concept of pe

Small values of pe favor electron- rich, or reduced, species, just as small values of pH favor proton rich species, acids. Unlike pH, however, pe can take on negative values.

Concept of pe

The largest pe value is + 13.0 and the smallest is near -6.0.

pe vs Eh

Eh (millivolts) = 59.2pe
Eh (Volts) = 0.059 pe

Concept of pe
In soils the pe range can be divided into 3 parts that corresponds to: 1) oxic soils (pe > + 7 at pH 7)

2) Sub oxic soils (2 < pe < + 7 pe at pH 7)

3) Anoxic soils

( pe < + 2 at pH 7)

pe + pH
Most soil systems consist of aqueous environments in which the dissociation of water into H2(g) or O2(g) imposes redox limit on soils On the reduced side the redox limit is given by the reaction;

H+ + e-

1/2 H2 g Rxn.1

pe + pH
H+ + e 1/2 H2 g K = (H2)g1/2/(H+) (e-) , K = 1, thus log K = 0 or log K = 1/2 log H2 (g) - log (H+) - log(e-) At H2 =1 atm, pe + pH = O

This represents the most reduced equilibrium conditions in natural aqueous environments.

pe + pH
On the oxidized side the redox limit is given by the reaction H+ + e- + 1/4 O2(g) = 1/2 H2O Rxn.2 K =1/2 H2O /(H+)(e-)(O2)1/4 =1020.78. Log K =Log (H+) -log(e-) 1/4 log O2(g) = 20.78 pe + pH = 20.78 + 1/4 O2(g)

pe + pH

Thus when O2 is 1 atm, pe + pH = 20.78. This represents the most oxidized equilibrium conditions in natural aqueous environments

pe + pH
When the redox limits of natural aqueous environments defined by reactions 1 and 2 are plotted we get a graph which is known as a pE-pH diagram, and shows the domain of electron and proton activity that has been observed in soil environment worldwide. Both pe and pH are needed to specify the redox status of aqueous systems.