Studies on the microbiology of silicon.

A study was made of the interactions between the element silicon, mainly as silicic acid, and various microbial processes. The effect of silicon compounds on fungal growth was determined under both oligotrophic and nutrient-rich (copiotrophic) conditions. Mycelium of Aspergillus oryzae was grown from a spore inoculum added to ultra-pure water (upw) containing silicon compounds, but not in upw alone. Growth of other fungi also only occurred in upw when silicon compounds were added. Increased growth of fungi also followed the addition of silicon compounds to Czapek Dox medium. Silicic acid also increased the protein content of fungi grown under such nutrient-rich conditions. The fungi solubilised the insoluble silicon compounds under both oligotrophic and copiotrophic conditions. Silicon was not however, accumulated by fungi as electron-dense hyphal bodies. Addition of silicic acid to nutrient rich media also increased the growth of species of Streptomyces but decreased the chlorophyll content of the alga, Dunaliella parva; the growth of two yeasts and the bacteria, E. colt and S. aureus also was not affected by silicon addition; the observed stimulatory effect therefore appears to be restricted to filamentous microorganisms. The effect of silicon compounds on various microbial processes was also investigated. Silicic acid stimulated the production of citric acid by Aspergillus niger, but decreased nitrification and sulphur oxidation in this fungus. Silicic acid addition also led to a reduction in antibiotic production by species of Streptomyces. Studies were initiated to study the possibility that fungi and bacteria can erode the surface of both bulk and porous silicon wafers. While no such surface erosion was evident, we observed that E. coif underwent extensive extreme pleomorphism when growing under starvation conditions for up to 14 days. Such pleomorphism consisted of the formation of bulbous protrusions from the normal rod, dumbbell-shaped cells and long filaments, these were up to 50g in length (compared to the normal 1-3μ, rods). Such filamentation was clearly caused by the inability of the bacterial cells (rods) to separate on division. The observed bacterial pleomorphism was not however, silicon-specific, as it was also found to occur on titanium and glass surfaces. Such extreme pleomorphism may have important implications in relation to the growth of E. coli in low nutrient environments and may influence the bacterium's ability to affect pathogenesis. While the microbiology of silicon has largely been neglected the results of this thesis show that there is considerable interaction between this element and microbial growth. Future studies should in particular be directed towards determining if silicon can be used as an energy source by microorganisms. Additionally, the observed phenomenon of extreme pleomorphism in E. coil is clearly worthy of further study.