| In this investigation, a sugarcane agroecosystem at a coastal tableland, in the northeast of Brazil, was screened to obtain bacteria strains able to synthesize poly-<FONT FACE="Symbol">b</font>-hydroxyalkanoates (PHA), using sucrose as the main carbon source. The potential to synthesize PHA was tested qualitatively by Sudan Black staining of colonies growing in different carbon sources: sucrose, glucose, fructose, propionate and cellulose. In a typical sugarcane crop management system, the plantation is burned before harvesting and vinasse, a byproduct of alcohol production, is used in a fertirrigation system causing, probably, selective pressures on the microbiota of natural environments. Eightytwo bacteria strains, belonging to 16 different... |
