Isolation and Identification of Sphingomonas sp. from Chicken Cecum and its Ammonia-Degrading Activity

Emission of ammonia is one of the main causes for the bad odor of the chicken manure. The ammonia does not only impose threats on animal health but also is associated with stimulations to chicken mucous membrane, such as conjunctiva and cornea. The mucous membrane damage increases chicken susceptibility to pathogenic microorganisms, for example the Newcastle disease virus and mycoplasma, etc., and eventually results in reduced chicken production. In this study, one bacterial strain degrading ammonia was isolated from the chicken cecum with the use of anaerobic nitrification medium and aerobic denitrification medium. This strain was yellow-colored, Gram-stain-negative, and strictly aerobic. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequence indicated that the bacterial strain is a member of the genus of Sphingomonas, designated Sphingomonas sp. Z392. Afterwards, Sphingomonas sp. Z392 was fed to the chicken in water with a concentration of 0.4×106CFU/mL. After feeding, the organic nitrogen, ammonium nitrogen, and nitrate nitrogen contents in chicken manure were determined by the Kjeldahl method, the indophenol blue method, and the phenol-disulfonic acid method, respectively. The results showed that the content of organic nitrogen in chicken manure decreased significantly (P © 2021. All Rights Reserved.