Bacterial chemotaxis to effluent from a rum distillery in tropical near-shore coastal waters.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Vibrio cholerae showed a strong positive chemotactic response towards rum distillery wastewaters (mostos) and a high oxygen uptake rate in the presence of this complex substrate. Rum slops stimulated only motility in Aeromonas hydrophila and Escherichia coli. The A. hydrophila and E. coli isolates were unable to oxidize mostos significantly.