{"id":{"repo_id":"vt","oai_identifier":"oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/41046"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/vt/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/41046","repository":{"repo_id":"vt","name":"Virginia Tech","base_url":"https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"The evolution of hydrogen sulfide by Gluconobacter species","abstract":"Previous studies demonstrate that members of the strictly aerobic genus Gluconobacter produce detectable quantities of hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) when incubated in SYP medium (5% sorbitol, 1% yeast extract, and 1% peptone) containing thiosulfate. This finding is puzzling, since the microbial evolution of H₂S is characteristic of anaerobic or facultative bacteria. The goal of this research was to determine the physiological role of H₂S evolution for the gluconobacters. A methylene blue method was used to quantify the amount of H₂S evolved from cultures grown aerobically for 3 days at 28°C. Five of the six tested strains of gluconobacter evolved from 6 to 68 μg of H₂S. Strains which grew to a higher density (> 300 μg cell protein/ml ) evolved between 10 and 68 μg of H₂S. Strains which grew to a lesser extent (< 140 μg cell protein/ml ) evolved no more than 6 μg of H₂S. Uninoculated SYP medium containing 1% thiosulfate showed no evidence of H₂S evolution; however, sterile SYP medium with decreasing concentrations of yeast extract and peptone showed increasing amounts of H₂S evolved. When SYP medium was exhausted by gluconobacter growth for 72 hours, then supplemented with thiosulfate, filter sterilized, and incubated for 3 days at 28°C, these sterile solutions evolved over 400 μg of H₂S. A drop in pH. similar to that which occurs during gluconobacter growth, is not sufficient to evolve H₂S. My results to date suggest that H₂S evolution results not from gluconobacter metabolism, but rather from spontaneous decomposition of thiosulfate and the depletion of media components during growth.","abstract_html":"Previous studies demonstrate that members of the strictly aerobic genus Gluconobacter produce detectable quantities of hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) when incubated in SYP medium (5% sorbitol, 1% yeast extract, and 1% peptone) containing thiosulfate. This finding is puzzling, since the microbial evolution of H₂S is characteristic of anaerobic or facultative bacteria. The goal of this research was to determine the physiological role of H₂S evolution for the gluconobacters. A methylene blue method was used to quantify the amount of H₂S evolved from cultures grown aerobically for 3 days at 28°C. Five of the six tested strains of gluconobacter evolved from 6 to 68 μg of H₂S. Strains which grew to a higher density (&gt; 300 μg cell protein/ml ) evolved between 10 and 68 μg of H₂S. Strains which grew to a lesser extent (&lt; 140 μg cell protein/ml ) evolved no more than 6 μg of H₂S. Uninoculated SYP medium containing 1% thiosulfate showed no evidence of H₂S evolution; however, sterile SYP medium with decreasing concentrations of yeast extract and peptone showed increasing amounts of H₂S evolved. When SYP medium was exhausted by gluconobacter growth for 72 hours, then supplemented with thiosulfate, filter sterilized, and incubated for 3 days at 28°C, these sterile solutions evolved over 400 μg of H₂S. A drop in pH. similar to that which occurs during gluconobacter growth, is not sufficient to evolve H₂S. My results to date suggest that H₂S evolution results not from gluconobacter metabolism, but rather from spontaneous decomposition of thiosulfate and the depletion of media components during growth.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Swartwood, Suzanne Christine"],"institution":"Virginia Tech","degree_name":"Master of Science","degree_level":"masters","degree_discipline":"Microbiology","degree_department":"Microbiology","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":1995,"date_issued":"1995","date_published":"1995","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:19:01Z","subjects":[],"languages":["en"],"rights":["In Copyright"],"rights_urls":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["etd-02132009-171359"],"render_values":[{"text":"etd-02132009-171359","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/10919/41046","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Microbiology"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Swartwood, Suzanne Christine"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2014-03-14T21:29:02Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2014-03-14T21:29:02Z","2009-02-13"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["1995"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Virginia Tech"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"dc:type.dcmitype","label":"Dc Type Dcmitype","values":["Text"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Microbiology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["masters"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["en"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["In Copyright"]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["etd-02132009-171359"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/10919/41046"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Previous studies demonstrate that members of the strictly aerobic genus Gluconobacter produce detectable quantities of hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) when incubated in SYP medium (5% sorbitol, 1% yeast extract, and 1% peptone) containing thiosulfate. This finding is puzzling, since the microbial evolution of H₂S is characteristic of anaerobic or facultative bacteria. The goal of this research was to determine the physiological role of H₂S evolution for the gluconobacters. A methylene blue method was used to quantify the amount of H₂S evolved from cultures grown aerobically for 3 days at 28°C. Five of the six tested strains of gluconobacter evolved from 6 to 68 μg of H₂S. Strains which grew to a higher density (> 300 μg cell protein/ml ) evolved between 10 and 68 μg of H₂S. Strains which grew to a lesser extent (< 140 μg cell protein/ml ) evolved no more than 6 μg of H₂S. Uninoculated SYP medium containing 1% thiosulfate showed no evidence of H₂S evolution; however, sterile SYP medium with decreasing concentrations of yeast extract and peptone showed increasing amounts of H₂S evolved. When SYP medium was exhausted by gluconobacter growth for 72 hours, then supplemented with thiosulfate, filter sterilized, and incubated for 3 days at 28°C, these sterile solutions evolved over 400 μg of H₂S. A drop in pH. similar to that which occurs during gluconobacter growth, is not sufficient to evolve H₂S. My results to date suggest that H₂S evolution results not from gluconobacter metabolism, but rather from spontaneous decomposition of thiosulfate and the depletion of media components during growth."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["Master of Science"]},{"key":"dc:format.medium","label":"Dc Format Medium","values":["BTD"]},{"key":"dc:format.mimetype","label":"Dc Format Mimetype","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The evolution of hydrogen sulfide by Gluconobacter species"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.department":["Microbiology"],"dc:creator":["Swartwood, Suzanne Christine"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2014-03-14T21:29:02Z"],"dc:date.available":["2014-03-14T21:29:02Z","2009-02-13"],"dc:date.issued":["1995"],"dc:description.abstract":["Previous studies demonstrate that members of the strictly aerobic genus Gluconobacter produce detectable quantities of hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) when incubated in SYP medium (5% sorbitol, 1% yeast extract, and 1% peptone) containing thiosulfate. This finding is puzzling, since the microbial evolution of H₂S is characteristic of anaerobic or facultative bacteria. The goal of this research was to determine the physiological role of H₂S evolution for the gluconobacters. A methylene blue method was used to quantify the amount of H₂S evolved from cultures grown aerobically for 3 days at 28°C. Five of the six tested strains of gluconobacter evolved from 6 to 68 μg of H₂S. Strains which grew to a higher density (> 300 μg cell protein/ml ) evolved between 10 and 68 μg of H₂S. Strains which grew to a lesser extent (< 140 μg cell protein/ml ) evolved no more than 6 μg of H₂S. Uninoculated SYP medium containing 1% thiosulfate showed no evidence of H₂S evolution; however, sterile SYP medium with decreasing concentrations of yeast extract and peptone showed increasing amounts of H₂S evolved. When SYP medium was exhausted by gluconobacter growth for 72 hours, then supplemented with thiosulfate, filter sterilized, and incubated for 3 days at 28°C, these sterile solutions evolved over 400 μg of H₂S. A drop in pH. similar to that which occurs during gluconobacter growth, is not sufficient to evolve H₂S. My results to date suggest that H₂S evolution results not from gluconobacter metabolism, but rather from spontaneous decomposition of thiosulfate and the depletion of media components during growth."],"dc:description.degree":["Master of Science"],"dc:format.medium":["BTD"],"dc:format.mimetype":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier.other":["etd-02132009-171359"],"dc:identifier.uri":["http://hdl.handle.net/10919/41046"],"dc:language.iso":["en"],"dc:publisher":["Virginia Tech"],"dc:rights":["In Copyright"],"dc:rights.uri":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"dc:title":["The evolution of hydrogen sulfide by Gluconobacter species"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"dc:type.dcmitype":["Text"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Microbiology"],"thesis:degree_level":["masters"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science"],"thesis:institution_name":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:19:01Z"}