Abstract
Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the oxidation of carbon monoxide (CO) by bacteria. The CO generated in soil and in the lower layers of the atmosphere is oxidized to CO 2 locally by biological agents, principally microbes. CO is added to the atmosphere in significant amounts through the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels and by atmospheric reactions. Bacteria that oxidize CO may be subdivided according to their ability to use CO as an energy source for growth (utilitarian oxidation) or based on whether the oxidation process is a gratuitous one (nonutilitarian oxidation) resulting from the acceptance of CO as a pseudosubstrate for an enzyme system evolved to catalyze another process. CO is inhibitory for all aerobic respiratory organisms. Even in aerobic carboxydobacteria, the high concentrations of CO reduce the growth rate and cellular yield, thereby indicating that CO tolerance is a necessary part of the ability to use CO at higher concentrations. Phototrophic bacteria may remove significant amounts of CO formed during the degradation of photosynthetic pigments in decaying vegetative materials in anaerobic sediments. The chapter also discusses the applications of the bacterial CO oxidation.
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