(The genetics and molecular biology of hydrogen metabolism in sulfate-reducing bacteria): Progress report

Technical Report · Thu Dec 01 04:00:00 EST 1988

OSTI ID:6462210

In anaerobic digestors and natural environments, the sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) play a pivotal role in methane generation, either providing hydrogen and acetate for methane formation or competing with the methanogens for those same substrates. The SRB are also the primary culprits in causing environmental metal corrosion costing millions of dollars each year and in producing poisonous sulfide sometimes costing lives. Key factors controlling the interactions of the SRB with other microorganisms in their environment are hydrogen metabolism and their tolerance of exposures to oxygen. The number of enzymes capable of producing or consuming hydrogen in the SRB and their physiological functions remain obscure. Our laboratory is developing the genetics and molecular biology of the SRB with the aim of examining the hydrogen metabolism. Desulfovibrio desulfuricans ATCC 27774 has been found to be amenable to classical genetic manipulation, antibiotic resistant mutants as well as mutants altered in sulfate and hydrogen metabolism have been isolated. Most excitingly, this strain has been found to produce a defective bacteriophage capable of generalized transduction. This strain as well as G100A have been found to be capable of genetic exchange with Escherichia coli via conjugation involving Q-incompatibility group plasmids. Detailed examination of the metabolic properties of these bacteria is now possible.

• Research Organization: Missouri Univ., Columbia (USA). Dept. of Biochemistry
• DOE Contract Number: FG02-87ER13713
• OSTI ID: 6462210
• Report Number(s): DOE/ER/13713-T1; ON: DE89007149
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

08 HYDROGEN
080106 -- Hydrogen-- Production-- Biosynthesis & Photochemical Processes
09 BIOMASS FUELS
140504* -- Solar Energy Conversion-- Biomass Production & Conversion-- (-1989)
550400 -- Genetics
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
AEROBIC CONDITIONS
ANAEROBIC CONDITIONS
BACTERIA
BACTERIOPHAGES
BIOLOGICAL ADAPTATION
CELL CONSTITUENTS
CULTURE MEDIA
DESULFOVIBRIO
DNA
DOCUMENT TYPES
ENZYMES
HYDROGENASES
MICROORGANISMS
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
MUTATIONS
NUCLEIC ACIDS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OXIDOREDUCTASES
PARASITES
PLASMIDS
PROGRESS REPORT
RECOMBINANT DNA
SULFATE-REDUCING BACTERIA
VIRUSES