Differential recovery of chain-elongating bacteria: comparing droplet, plating, and dilution-to-extinction methods.

ABSTRACT: Microbial chain elongation via reverse β-oxidation offers a more sustainable route to produce medium-chain fatty acids like caproate, commodity chemicals typically produced via (petro)chemical processes. Thermophilic anaerobic microbiomes allow production at a high rate and selectivity but remain poorly understood due to the limited cultivability of their members. To better access functional taxa from a thermophilic chain-elongating reactor community, we applied multiple isolation strategies: conventional anaerobic plating, dilution-to-extinction (DTE), droplet-based microfluidics, and fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS). We evaluated the taxonomic range and cultivation success of each method using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Each method yielded a distinct subset of microbial taxa. Wh

SUBMITTER: Nauwynck W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12625695 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature