EXCRETION OF FERMENTATION PRODUCTS IN DARK AND ANAEROBICALLY INCUBATED CYANOBACTERIA

An arbitrarily chosen selection of 37 cyano-bacterial strains of the Oldenburg culture collection were tested for their ability of fermentation and secretion of fermentation products. In all examined strains at least one fermentation product could be detected. For the most part fermentation products were only shed in traces. Thus, for a large part of the investigated strains fermentation does not seem to be a sufficient metabolism to survive dark and anaerobic periods. Only five strains secreted remarkable amounts of products. Glycollate was mostly found in combination with formate and/or traces of oxalate. Lactate, ethanol and acetate were found in combination or single. Most of those strains sheding high amounts of glycollate and formate, did not show a remarkable lactate, ethanol or acetate excretion; those excreting high amounts of lactate, ethanol or acetate produced only minor volumes of glycollate and formate. It was not possible to find similar fermentation patterns by comparing fermentation of species belonging to the same family. Organisms fermenting or not fermenting could be found among marine, brackish and freshwater cyanobacteria. Fermentation, therefore seems to be a unique, and likely old capability among cyanbacteria, which was partly lost during evolution.