Basic Equations to Describe the Kinetic Isotope Effect during Microbial Substrate Transformation

Abstract

The redistribution of stable isotopes allows specifying the pathway of substrate utilization and identifying the relevant kinetic parameters. To describe degradation kinetics and identify predominant metabolic pathway for microbial substrate transformation, new basic equations, which take into account the dynamics of heavier isotope in the substrate, intermediates, and products were added to the common model of microbial substrate transformation, which did consider isotope differences at any step of substrate transformation. Using the unified approach, we showed that the dynamic changes of isotope fractionation depend on the kinetic coefficients, the initial conditions, and the microorganisms participating in the reactions during microbial denitrification, anaerobic oxidation of methane by sulphate and nitrite, aerobic oxidation of methane gas, and anaerobic digestion of cellulose.