The study mainly demonstrated whether Bacillus mucilaginosus can use atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO(2)) through the bacteria excreted carbonic anhydrase (CA) capturing atmospheric CO(2). It had been proved that CA could reversibly catalyze hydration of CO(2). When the bacteria was cultured in the medium containing limestone, Ca(2+) concentration and CA activities simultaneously increased with the amount of limestone increasing in the medium. Analysis for the bacterial growth kinetics demonstrated Ca(2+) concentration increased, CA activities enhanced and pH value of broth rose and residual glycerol concentration decreased with prolonging fermentation time. Ca(2+) concentration of bacterial broth gradually increased with the increasing of amount CA supply and time extension when the bacteria were cultured in the Alexandrov medium containing limestone, in which CA synthesized was extremely low when limestone dissolved into water, CA could elevate Ca(2+) concentration and pH value, and the bacteria might further elevated the Ca(2+) concentration and pH value. Therefore, it is suggested that B. mucilaginosus can first capture atmospheric CO(2) by CA, then fix atmospheric CO(2) by bacteria metabolism, which complements the content of biology and provide a new strategy for CO(2) sequestration from the air.

Publication name	AFRICAN JOURNAL OF MICROBIOLOGY RESEARCH　Volume: 5 　Issue: 2 　Pages: 106-112 　Published: JAN 18 2011
Author(s)	Zhang, Zhicai; Lian, Bin; Hou, Weiguo; Chen, Mingxia; Li, Xin; Li, Yan
Corresponding author	LIAN Bin  bin2368@vip.163.com  Chinese Acad Sci, Inst Geochem, State Key Lab Environm Geochem, Guiyang 550002, Guizhou, Peoples R China

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