Bioenergetics of sulphate-reducing bacteria in relation to their environmental impact

Abstract

The cellular physiology of the sulphate-reducing bacteria, and of other sulphidogenic species, is determined by the energetic requirements consequent upon their respiratory mode of metabolism with sulphate and other oxyanions of sulphur as terminal electron acceptors. As a further consequence of their, relatively, restricted catabolic activities and their requirement for conditions of anaerobiosis, sulphidogenic bacteria are almost invariably found in nature as component organisms within microbial consortia. The capacity to generate significant quantities of sulphide influences the overall metabolic activity and species diversity of these consortia, and is the root cause of the environmental impact of the sulphidogenic species: corrosion, pollution and the souring of hydrocarbon reservoirs.