Microorganisms respiration

The acidification of the rhizosphere has been reported in a range of studies from pot experiments to field investigations (Marschner, 1986 Smith and Pooley, 1989 Courchesne et al, 2001 Wang et al, 2001). The acidification is considered to be mainly induced by the response of roots to ionic charge imbalances in the soil solution (Nye, 1986 Haynes, 1990). This imbalance is caused by the preferential uptake of cations or anions, as selected by plant roots. The acidification of the soil solution therefore results from a release of H+ by roots in response to an ionic charge imbalance caused by the preferential uptake of cations such as NH. Other factors, such as the exudation of organic substances by roots and COj enhancement by microorganism respiration, are also known to contribute to the acidification of the rhizosphere. 

Other useful sensors rely on the coupling of microorganisms and electrochemical transducers. Changes in the respiration activity of the microorganism, induced by the target analyte, result in decreased surface concentration of electroactive metabolites (e.g., oxygen), which can be detected by the transducer. 

Fermentation occurs naturally in various microorganisms such as bacteria, yeasts, fungi and in mammalian muscle. Yeasts were discovered to have connection with fermentation as observed by Louis Pasteur and originally defined as respiration without air. However, it does not have to always occur in anaerobic condition. For example, starch when fermented under... 

Processes which generate heat in organic materials are reviewed. At ordinary temperatures, respiration of living cells and particularly the metabolism of microorganisms may cause self-heating, while at elevated temperatures pyrolysis, abiotic oxidation, and adsorption of various gases by charred materials drive temperatures up whenever the released heat is unable to dissipate out of the material. The crucial rate of pyrolytic heat release depends on exothermicity and rates of the pyrolysis process. 

In environments lacking a suitable external electron acceptor - such as dioxygen, sulfate, or ferric iron - respiration is not possible. Here, many organic compounds may be metabolized by fermenting microorganisms. Microbes of this class may create ATP by a direct coupling mechanism, using a process known as substrate level phosphorylation, SLP with an ion translocation mechanism like that employed by respirers, as already described or by a combination of SLP and ion translocation.1... 

The relation between microbial diversity and soil functions is poorly understood because we cannot measure easily the microbial diversity, even if we can detect unculturable microorganisms by molecular techniques (Nannipieri et al. 2003). In addition, the present assays for measuring microbial functions determine the overall rate of entire metabolic processes, such as respiration, or specific enzyme activities, without identifying the active microbial species involved. The recent advances in RNA extraction from soil might permit us to determine active species in soil (Griffiths et al. 2000 Hurt et al. 2001). Further advances in understanding require us to determine the composition of microbial communities and microbial functions in microhabitats. 

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