Community-based degradation of 4-chorosalicylate tracked on the single cell level

4-Chlorosalicylate (4-CS) can be degraded completely by a bacterial consortium consisting of Pseudomonas reinekei (MT1), Achromobacter spanius (MT3) and Pseudomonas veronii (MT4). The fourth species Wautersiella falsenii (MT2) is thought to act as a ‘necrotizer’ of the community. Single cell approaches were used to follow every species' degradation activity within the community by assuming that growth and proliferation are activity markers for the utilization of 4-CS and its degradation pathway intermediates as carbon and energy sources. A primary/secondary antibody staining technique for species differentiation was applied and a species-resolved determination of proliferation activity by flow cytometry undertaken. Degradation was followed by quantifying 4-CS and the resulting intermediates by HPLC. A good correlation of HPLC bulk data with the proliferation activity states of every species within the community was found. It was also assumed that reduced activity of strain MT4 and increased proliferation of strain MT2 might have caused an observed breakdown of the consortium grown in the bioreactor. The double staining technique provided the chance to follow bacterial cell states and their roles in mixed cultures without applying labelled substrates. It is therefore in line with single cell techniques already successfully applied in biotechnology for developing strategies to optimize microbially catalyzed production processes.