Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Aims

Sulphate-reducing bacteria (SRB) are ecologically important group of anaerobic micro-organisms that can reduce sulphate to form hydrogen sulphide-a toxic gas causing iron corrosion on metal surfaces. In this work, SRB strains were isolated from aquatic environments in the country of Georgia to determine their lysogenicity and the role of temperate phages in host metabolism.

Methods and results

SRB strains were isolated in samples from the Black Sea coast of Georgia. Based on their genetic, cytological and physiological properties of bacteria, 10 Georgian isolates were assigned to the genus Desulfovibrio. Temperate bacteriophages were induced from three out of ten strains by UV-exposure. Comparison of metal (Fe and Cr) reduction and utilization of various carbon sources by the wild-type (lysogenic) bacterial strains and their UV-irradiated counterparts was done.

Conclusions

Temperate phage in the cells of SRB could alter significant functions of bacteria and may have a contribution in the acquisition of different traits by SRB.

Significance and impact of the study

This article pointed to a significant role for temperate bacteriophages in the metabolism and metabolic potential of host strains of SRB, which were first isolated from the aquatic environment of Georgia.