Quantification of a specific bacterial strain in an anaerobic mixed culture for biohydrogen production by the aerobic fluorescence recovery (AFR) technique

To analyze a mixed culture consisting of gfp-harbored Enterobacter aerogenes and Clostridium paraputrificum for hydrogen production, a method by an aerobic fluorescence recovery (AFR) of GFP expressed under anaerobic conditions has been studied. The concentrations of the respective strain in the mixed culture were calculated based on the fluorescence after AFR. E. aerogenes grew in the early stages because of its insensitivity to the residual oxygen in the medium. C. paraputrificum became the dominant strain in the cultivation period after the consumption of oxygen. According to the repartition of the two strains in the mixed culture and the hydrogen production profile of the respective pure cultures, the hydrogen production by the mixed culture could be calculated.