The Role of Microbes in Agriculture: Sergei Vinogradskii’s Discovery and Investigation of Chemosynthesis, 1880–1910

Abstract

In 1890, Sergei Nikolaevich Vinogradskii (Winogradsky) proposed a novel life process called chemosynthesis. His discovery that some microbes could live solely on inorganic matter emerged during his physiological research in 1880s in Strassburg and Zurich on sulfur, iron, and nitrogen bacteria. In his nitrification research, Vinogradskii first embraced the idea that microbiology could have great bearing on agricultural problems. His critique of agricultural chemists and Kochian-style bacteriologists brought this message to the broader agricultural community, resulting in an heightened interest in biological, rather than chemical methods to investigate soil processes. From 1891 to 1910, he directed the microbiological laboratory at the Imperial Institute of Experimental Medicine in St. Petersburg, Russia, where he expanded his chemosynthesis research to a broad investigation of the manifold significance of autotrophic organisms in soil processes. This work and that of his students attracted the serious attention of agricultural chemists and soil scientists in Russia and abroad, changing essentially the way they understood and investigated the role of microbes in the soil. His student, Vasilii Omelianskii, effectively integrated Vinogradskii's approach into Russian and Soviet, and international agricultural microbiology. Vinogradskii's activities in the late 19th century reflect the changes occurring more broadly in science. At that time, microbiologists such as Louis Pasteur, Eugenius Warming, and Martianus Beijerinck were contributing new laboratory methods and theoretical perspectives to incipient disciplines closely related to agriculture: ecology, soil science, and soil microbiology.

Novel Large Sulfur Bacteria in the Metagenomes of Groundwater-Fed Chemosynthetic Microbial Mats in the Lake Huron Basin

“…Although this marked the first known example of complex communities based on inorganic energy sources, the concept of chemosynthesis dates back far earlier, to Winogradsky’s studies of large sulfur bacteria (LSB) (Ackert, 2006). Chemosynthetic microbial communities have now been well studied in many marine and terrestrial environments.…”

“…The discovery of chemosynthetic communities at deep-sea hydrothermal vents fundamentally changed views of how energy and carbon flows through ecosystems ( Jannasch and Wirsen, 1979 ). Although this marked the first known example of complex communities based on inorganic energy sources, the concept of chemosynthesis dates back far earlier, to Winogradsky’s studies of large sulfur bacteria (LSB) ( Ackert, 2006 ). Chemosynthetic microbial communities have now been well studied in many marine and terrestrial environments.…”

The search for the meaning of life in soil: an opinion

“…Research on soil microorganisms is long established. Ackert (2006) summarizes the work of Sergei Vinogradskii in soil microbiology from the 1890s through to 1910. A review of Google Scholar (16 February 2017) returns on the phrase 'soil microorganisms' emphasizes such early interest, with 10 noted publications up to 1900, rising to just above 500 in 1950.…”

Advances in understanding nitrogen flows and transformations: gaps and research pathways

“…These N losses are of significance both economically and environmentally. Despite more than 150 years of N cycling research, starting with studies by well-known scientists such as Liebig (van der Ploeg et al 1999), Bausingault (Aulie 1970), Winogradsky (Ackert 2006) and others, there are still significant questions to be addressed with respect to N transformations and losses from terrestrial ecosystems. In particular, the interactions and impact of plants with the N cycle (Knops et al 2002), the key processes for the N cycle, in particular denitrification (Davidson & Seitzinger 2006) and small-scale variability, and microsite N dynamics and interactions are to a great extent unresolved and not adequately understood.…”