Actinobacteria.

[Microbeman]

From my favorite worm expert Kelly Slocum;

Worms derive their nutrients from the bodies of microorganims that decay organic materials (OM). Once the OM has begun to rot it softens or fragments into small pieces that the worm can take in to its small mouth. Once in the gut the worm digestive process selects the microorganisms living on and decaying the OM as its nutrition source. The OM itself is moved on down the intestine where it is reduced by a different group of bacteria and fungi that live in the worm gut, then wrapped in a mucous coat and passed from the body as a cast.

Vermicomposting systems are specifically designed to receive regular inputs of raw OM, (we typically refer to this as feedstock) which keeps the microbiology in the system at very high levels. Bedding materials in the bin are tyically high in carbon; things like shredded leaves, paper, cardboard and straw, and this carbon is balanced by the relatively high nitrogen in the food scraps or manure we add to the bin as feedstock. When the carbon and nitrogen are balanced there is an ideal source of nutrients for the bacteria and fungi pivotal to the worm diet, and their populations bloom in response. When microbes bloom, worm activity is optimized.

Let's debunk this myth that worm castings are bad for worms. Worms need the most biologically active environment they can find in order to grow at maximum. The cast of the worm can be as much as six times MORE biologically active than is the OM they ingest. As such, castings are beneficial in the system since they increase the microbial activity. In fact, worms will reingest their own castings over and over again, even in the presence of a rich food source. Some of the most productive worm beds in the world are maintained by removing castings just once per year. Now, having said that, castings can also be very dense. If you get a castings build up low in the bin it can sometimes restict air movement. You'll want to watch bin conditions and, if you find the worms are reacting to low O2 levels, clean out the castings.

Be very aware that the internet is loaded with overly complex and outright WRONG information about how to grow worms. This is not a complex issue and worms in nature do it without all the gyrations some humans seem to feel is necessary to aid them.

Are you being impatient? I would be shocked if you were exhibiting the patience necessary for vermicomposting! :: None of us, when we first began our foray into worms, was patient, and some of us have never gotten over our impatience! You're being normal, which likely means you are expecting a bit too much a bit too soon. Do relax a bit about the little buggers and enjoy the process. And remember, Worms thrive on five things:

Air
Water
Decaying organic matter (OM)
Time
Neglect

Kelly S

 

[spurr]

Nice post MM, where is she/he to be found online?

I still find it odd that so many people claim worms use organic matter as 'food', I know MrFista and yourself realize the truth, but the myth about worms using OM as food is believed by most amateur vermiculturists and most organic gardeners (of cannabis and non-cannabis) I know of.

 

[DARC MIND]

neat topic going here,thnx fista!
2ndtry would of loved this discussion

 

[Microbeman]

Nice post MM, where is she/he to be found online?

I still find it odd that so many people claim worms use organic matter as 'food', I know MrFista and yourself realize the truth, but the myth about worms using OM as food is believed by most amateur vermiculturists and most organic gardeners (of cannabis and non-cannabis) I know of.

I'm not sure if one can find her directly anymore but you can search information she wrote online. I spoke to her on the phone years ago prior to getting into worms.

 

[MrFista]

neat topic going here,thnx fista!
2ndtry would of loved this discussion

LOL. I have a feeling he's not very far at all. Thanks for the info on worms. So they are spreading microbes, but microbes that live in the worms gut, not microbes that 'survive' in the worms gut.

Good point that if the worms like the conditions the bacteria are likely happy too. Nothing like common sense. Occams razor most definately belongs in biology discussions.

MM's photo links show sporulation of an actinobacteria sp.

N2 vs N. I say N to avoid listing all possible nitrogenous species all the time... could be here all day knocking out caps and numbers and saying very little. Sorry if my inaccuracy rankles, N means nitrogen - meaning a nitrogenous species, or N2. If I say atmospheric N - it's N2. If I'm talking about that supplied in the soil there's nitrate nitrite ammonia ammonium arginine..... Easier to say N - that's what I'm looking at - the species doesn't matter unless it is not available to plants.

Edit: Ego too big for skill level.

Organic arginine via is interesting to me. There is a stereogenic centre right next to the carboxyl group - this molecule is chiral and comes in two enantiomers one definately more reactive than the other. I'll gaurantee only one form of this is being made by fungi as natural enzymes (arginase) typically fit only one enantiomer. It's we humans who fail to be so precise, and make racemic mixtures with all the side affects that (more often than not) come with them. These AM fungi could be providing a highly valued product namely an infant formula (arginine essential to infants) with only the naturally occuring enantiomer.

There's potential in almost everything when we recognise it. AM needs some good press.

 

[MrFista]

It could be possible to harvest AM metabolites before too long. Here's an abstract. Also methods if you have access to Nature...

Uncultured microorganisms as a source of secondary metabolites:

http://www.nature.com/ja/journal/v63/n8/full/ja201087a.html

"significant departures from conventional techniques were clearly in order, and indeed the new technologies substantially diverged from traditional cultivation methods by adopting single cell and high-throughput strategies, better mimicking the natural milieu, increasing the length of incubation and lowering the concentration of nutrients... All three strategies aim to provide microorganisms with their natural growth conditions by incubating them in simulated natural environments."

A good read.

 

[MrFista]

Soil bacterial and fungal communities across a pH gradient in an arable soil:

This one is free.

http://www.nature.com/ismej/journal/v4/n10/full/ismej201058a.html

"The phylogenetic distances between soil bacterial communities across the pH gradient were clearly related to shifts in the relative abundances of bacterial taxa at the phylum and subphylum levels. The relative abundances of Acidobacteria subgroups 1, 2 and 3 decreased with increasing soil pH. The relative abundance of Acidobacteria subgroups 5, 6 and 7 increased with soil pH. Except for high values at the extreme low end of the pH scale (<pH 4.1), the relative abundance of Actinobacteria was largely unaffected by soil pH. Similarly, the relative abundance of Bacteriodetes did not show clear relationships with soil pH. Nitrospira was relatively more abundant at higher soil pH but the trend was not significant. Above pH 4.5, the α-, β-, γ- and δ-Proteobacteria all increased in relative abundance with increasing soil pH, but these trends were only significant for the γ-Proteobacteria. The single largest bacterial group in the low pH soils was Acidobacteria subgroup 1 (at almost 40% of the sequences), whereas α-Proteobacteria were most abundant in the high pH soils in which this group represented about 40% of all sequences.

There is some indication that the spatial patterns exhibited by soil fungal communities are not correlated, or less strongly correlated, with soil pH than has been observed for bacterial communities"

A 4-8 pH window where bacterial populations are noticeably more diverse. Fungi and actinobacteria relatively unphased by it all.

Nitrospira (not significantly) and alpha proteobacteria both increasing with pH hints of checks and balances in the genome entire. As does the rise of some acidobacteria subgroups with pH and others with lowering pH. And the fungi, adapted to be there throughout the media.