Electrokinetic properties of pasteurii and aquimarina bacteria

Abstract

An investigation of the electrokinetic properties of Sporosarcina pasteurii and Sporosarcina aquimarina bacteria is presented here. The surface charge of bacteria in different pH values was characterised by zeta potential measurements. Results show that both type strains are pH dependent and have negative zeta potential in the low and high pH range. S. pasteurii has a more negative charge in comparison to S. aquimarina. The bacteria size of S. pasteurii was 2–3 µm, whereas S. aquimarina has a size of 1–2 µm in culture media, which has a potential to transport these type strains into fine soils. The results of the electrophoresis mobility of S. pasteurii bacteria show that the bacteria were transported under electric fields. These results demonstrate that electrokinetics can be used for bacterial transport in soils with low hydraulic conductivity.