MICROBIAL ACTIVITY IN BLOCKING COMPOST. 2. MEASUREMENT OF ATP CONCENTRATIONS.

The biomass of peat based media was estimated by determining the ATP content of media.
The Luciferin-luciferase technique, using trichloroacetic acid/disodium hydrogen orthophosphate/paraquat dichloride as extractant, was employed.
Media volumes of 10 cm³, an extractant volume of 25 cm³ and a disintegration time of 2 min were considered most suitable for ATP extraction.
Peat media were found to contain 0.14–0.37 μg.
ATP. cm^-3 fresh medium, much lower values than mineral soils.

Slight increases in ATP concentrations (0.3 – 0.4 μg. cm^-3 medium) were observed after four days in blocking media amended with very high concentrations of ATP (50 – 150 μg. cm^-3 medium). These increases may reflect increases in biomass following the uptake of carbon sources such as adenosine – formed by the breakdown of the labile ATP molecule in media.
Over 99.7% of ATP added to blocking media was not recovered and this indicates that the principal source of ATP extracted from blocking media is living biomass.

International Symposium on Substrates in Horticulture other than Soils In Situ

C.P. Turner, W.R. Carlile

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1984.150.9