This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Spear, J. R.
Right arrow Articles by Honeyman, B. D.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Spear, J. R.
Right arrow Articles by Honeyman, B. D.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Spear, J. R.
Right arrow Articles by Honeyman, B. D.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, September 2000, p. 3711-3721, Vol. 66, No. 9
0099-2240/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Modeling Reduction of Uranium U(VI) under Variable Sulfate Concentrations by Sulfate-Reducing Bacteria

John R. Spear,* Linda A. Figueroa, and Bruce D. Honeyman

Division of Environmental Science and Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado 80401

Received 4 February 2000/Accepted 22 June 2000

The kinetics for the reduction of sulfate alone and for concurrent uranium [U(VI)] and sulfate reduction, by mixed and pure cultures of sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) at 21 ± 3°C were studied. The mixed culture contained the SRB Desulfovibrio vulgaris along with a Clostridium sp. determined via 16S ribosomal DNA analysis. The pure culture was Desulfovibrio desulfuricans (ATCC 7757). A zero-order model best fit the data for the reduction of sulfate from 0.1 to 10 mM. A lag time occurred below cell concentrations of 0.1 mg (dry weight) of cells/ml. For the mixed culture, average values for the maximum specific reaction rate, Vmax, ranged from 2.4 ± 0.2 µmol of sulfate/mg (dry weight) of SRB · h-1) at 0.25 mM sulfate to 5.0 ± 1.1 µmol of sulfate/mg (dry weight) of SRB · h-1 at 10 mM sulfate (average cell concentration, 0.52 mg [dry weight]/ml). For the pure culture, Vmax was 1.6 ± 0.2 µmol of sulfate/mg (dry weight) of SRB · h-1 at 1 mM sulfate (0.29 mg [dry weight] of cells/ml). When both electron acceptors were present, sulfate reduction remained zero order for both cultures, while uranium reduction was first order, with rate constants of 0.071 ± 0.003 mg (dry weight) of cells/ml · min-1 for the mixed culture and 0.137 ± 0.016 mg (dry weight) of cells/ml · min-1 (U0 = 1 mM) for the D. desulfuricans culture. Both cultures exhibited a faster rate of uranium reduction in the presence of sulfate and no lag time until the onset of U reduction in contrast to U alone. This kinetics information can be used to design an SRB-dominated biotreatment scheme for the removal of U(VI) from an aqueous source.


* Corresponding author. Present address: Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, Campus Box 347, University of Colorado, Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309. Phone: (303) 735-1808. Fax: (303) 492-7744. E-mail: spearj{at}colorado.edu.


Applied and Environmental Microbiology, September 2000, p. 3711-3721, Vol. 66, No. 9
0099-2240/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Akob, D. M., Mills, H. J., Gihring, T. M., Kerkhof, L., Stucki, J. W., Anastacio, A. S., Chin, K.-J., Kusel, K., Palumbo, A. V., Watson, D. B., Kostka, J. E. (2008). Functional Diversity and Electron Donor Dependence of Microbial Populations Capable of U(VI) Reduction in Radionuclide-Contaminated Subsurface Sediments. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 74: 3159-3170 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Naz, N., Young, H. K., Ahmed, N., Gadd, G. M. (2005). Cadmium Accumulation and DNA Homology with Metal Resistance Genes in Sulfate-Reducing Bacteria. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 71: 4610-4618 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Elias, D. A., Suflita, J. M., McInerney, M. J., Krumholz, L. R. (2004). Periplasmic Cytochrome c3 of Desulfovibrio vulgaris Is Directly Involved in H2-Mediated Metal but Not Sulfate Reduction. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 70: 413-420 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Jin, Q., Bethke, C. M. (2003). A New Rate Law Describing Microbial Respiration. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 69: 2340-2348 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Suzuki, Y., Kelly, S. D., Kemner, K. M., Banfield, J. F. (2003). Microbial Populations Stimulated for Hexavalent Uranium Reduction in Uranium Mine Sediment. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 69: 1337-1346 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Payne, R. B., Gentry, D. M., Rapp-Giles, B. J., Casalot, L., Wall, J. D. (2002). Uranium Reduction by Desulfovibrio desulfuricans Strain G20 and a Cytochrome c3 Mutant. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 68: 3129-3132 [Abstract] [Full Text]