Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Contributors
- Preface
- 1 Energy metabolism and phylogenetic diversity of sulphate-reducing bacteria
- 2 Molecular strategies for studies of natural populations of sulphate-reducing microorganisms
- 3 Functional genomics of sulphate-reducing prokaryotes
- 4 Evaluation of stress response in sulphate-reducing bacteria through genome analysis
- 5 Response of sulphate-reducing bacteria to oxygen
- 6 Biochemical, proteomic and genetic characterization of oxygen survival mechanisms in sulphate-reducing bacteria of the genus Desulfovibrio
- 7 Biochemical, genetic and genomic characterization of anaerobic electron transport pathways in sulphate-reducing Delta proteobacteria
- 8 Dissimilatory nitrate and nitrite ammonification by sulphate-reducing eubacteria
- 9 Anaerobic degradation of hydrocarbons with sulphate as electron acceptor
- 10 Sulphate-reducing bacteria from oil field environments and deep-sea hydrothermal vents
- 11 The sub-seafloor biosphere and sulphate-reducing prokaryotes: their presence and significance
- 12 Ecophysiology of sulphate-reducing bacteria in environmental biofilms
- 13 Bioprocess engineering of sulphate reduction for environmental technology
- 14 Bioremediation of metals and metalloids by precipitation and cellular binding
- 15 Enzymatic and genomic studies on the reduction of mercury and selected metallic oxyanions by sulphate-reducing bacteria
- 16 Sulphate-reducing bacteria and their role in corrosion of ferrous materials
- 17 Anaerobic metabolism of nitroaromatic compounds and bioremediation of explosives by sulphate-reducing bacteria
- 18 Sulphate-reducing bacteria and the human large intestine
- Index
- Plate section
- References
12 - Ecophysiology of sulphate-reducing bacteria in environmental biofilms
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 22 August 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Contributors
- Preface
- 1 Energy metabolism and phylogenetic diversity of sulphate-reducing bacteria
- 2 Molecular strategies for studies of natural populations of sulphate-reducing microorganisms
- 3 Functional genomics of sulphate-reducing prokaryotes
- 4 Evaluation of stress response in sulphate-reducing bacteria through genome analysis
- 5 Response of sulphate-reducing bacteria to oxygen
- 6 Biochemical, proteomic and genetic characterization of oxygen survival mechanisms in sulphate-reducing bacteria of the genus Desulfovibrio
- 7 Biochemical, genetic and genomic characterization of anaerobic electron transport pathways in sulphate-reducing Delta proteobacteria
- 8 Dissimilatory nitrate and nitrite ammonification by sulphate-reducing eubacteria
- 9 Anaerobic degradation of hydrocarbons with sulphate as electron acceptor
- 10 Sulphate-reducing bacteria from oil field environments and deep-sea hydrothermal vents
- 11 The sub-seafloor biosphere and sulphate-reducing prokaryotes: their presence and significance
- 12 Ecophysiology of sulphate-reducing bacteria in environmental biofilms
- 13 Bioprocess engineering of sulphate reduction for environmental technology
- 14 Bioremediation of metals and metalloids by precipitation and cellular binding
- 15 Enzymatic and genomic studies on the reduction of mercury and selected metallic oxyanions by sulphate-reducing bacteria
- 16 Sulphate-reducing bacteria and their role in corrosion of ferrous materials
- 17 Anaerobic metabolism of nitroaromatic compounds and bioremediation of explosives by sulphate-reducing bacteria
- 18 Sulphate-reducing bacteria and the human large intestine
- Index
- Plate section
- References
Summary
INTRODUCTION
Sulphate-reducing bacteria (SRB) are a phylogenetically and physiologically diverse group of bacteria, characterized by their versatile metabolic capability to use various electron acceptors and donors (Widdel, 1988). SRB are therefore universally distributed in diverse environments and play significant ecophysiological roles in anaerobic biomineralization pathways. The degradation of organic matter by a complex microbial community is governed to a large extent by available electron acceptors. The terminal stages of the anaerobic mineralization of organic matter is catalyzed by SRB and methanogens, and their competitive and cooperative interactions have been described previously (Oude Elferink et al., 1994).
Typical domestic wastewaters contain sulphate concentrations of 100–1000 μM and relatively low dissolved oxygen due to the lower solubility and rapid depletion of this gas by biological activity. Thus, sulphate reduction can be the dominant terminal electron accepting process and account for up to 50% of mineralization of organic matter in wastewater biofilms (Kühl and Jorgensen, 1992; Okabe et al., 2003a). Multiple electron donors and electron acceptors are present in the wastewaters. As a result, wastewater biofilms are very complex multispecies biofilms, displaying considerable heterogeneity, with regard to both the microorganisms present and their physicochemical microenvironments. Sulphate reduction is anticipated to take place in the deeper anoxic biofilm strata even though the bulk liquid is oxygenated. It is, therefore, thought that a successive vertical zonation of respiratory processes can be found in aerobic wastewater biofilms with a typical thickness of only a few millimeters (Ito et al., 2002b; Kühl and Jorgensen, 1992; Okabe et al., 1999a; 2003a; Ramsing et al., 1993).
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Sulphate-Reducing BacteriaEnvironmental and Engineered Systems, pp. 359 - 382Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2007
References
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