Published online by Cambridge University Press: 22 August 2009
INTRODUCTION
The unique ability of the anaerobic sulphate-reducing bacteria (SRB) to respire sulphate provides access to niches that may be restricted from other bacteria. However, environmental niches are by definition constantly in flux. Thus, for scientists to reach a level of understanding that will allow prediction and/or control of the activities of the SRB, it is necessary to learn how the bacteria respond to changes in environmental parameters; such as, nutrient availability, presence of toxic substances, altered salt concentrations, temperature fluctuations, and a myriad of other variables. With the recent sequencing of a number of SRB (Klenk et al., 1997; Heidelberg et al., 2004; Rabus et al., 2004), the available proteins and regulatory sites of the bacteria have been revealed. Nevertheless, a significant percentage of the predicted open reading frames (ORFs) encode hypothetical or conserved hypothetical proteins for which functions remain obscure. Much work is yet to be done to elucidate the interplay of functions that allow the SRB to survive or even flourish in the changing conditions prevailing in their environment. Here we discuss preliminary transcriptional analyses of the responses of Desulfovibrio vulgaris Hildenborough to a number of environmental stressors.
A description of optimal growth conditions for D. vulgaris Hildenborough is derived from its early characterization. This strain is a mesophilic Gram-negative anaerobe which was isolated in 1946 from Wealden Clay near Hildenborough, Kent, in the United Kingdom (Postgate, 1984).
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