title: High Survivability of Cheese Whey-Grown Rhizobium meliloti Cells upon Exposure to Physical Stress.
abstract: Whey, a by-product of the dairy industry, has been found to protect the rhizobia cells during freezing and thawing. Cells of rhizobia grown on whey sustained freezing better at -18 degrees C than did cells grown on mannitol or sucrose. Suspensions of cells grown on whey or mannitol that were suspended in whey performed equally well at -18 and -80 degrees C, with 94 and 100% survival, respectively. Whey-grown rhizobia in pellets withstood desiccation better than did their mannitol-grown equivalents. Rhizobia that were grown on whey and then inoculated onto commercial peat showed a survival rate of 100% after 23 weeks at -4 degrees C. Whey-grown cells in peat performed better at various temperatures during storage, even when they were exposed to desiccation, than did mannitol-grown cells in peat. Whey, therefore, offers interesting possibilities as a Rhizobium protectant for the inoculum industry.
authors.affiliation: Research Station, Agriculture Canada, 2560 Hochelaga Boulevard, Sainte-Foy, Quebec, Canada G1V 2J3.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bissonnette
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lalande