Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 7, 2026

Development of Sulfidogenic Sludge from Marine Sediments and Trichloroethylene Reduction in an Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket Reactor
Published on: October 15, 2015
Exposure to sulfide causes populations shifts in sulfate-reducing consortia
1Bioprocess Engineering Research Unit, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, Cape Town, South Africa. bulent.icgen@tubitak.gov.tr <bulent.icgen@tubitak.gov.tr>
Abstract:
The shift in the community structure of a mixed culture of sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) at 0.5, 0.75, 1, and 1.5 kg m(-3) sulfide loadings was investigated in an anaerobic continuous bioreactor used for treatment of sulfate-containing wastewater by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), using SRB species-specific and group-specific 16S rRNA-targeting probes. Hybridization analysis using these 16S rRNA-targeted oligonucleotide probes revealed that sulfide was toxic for Desulfonema, Desulfobulbus spp. and the Desulfobacteriaceae group, although it was not toxic for Desulfobacter, Desulfotomaculum, Desulfobacterium spp. or the Desulfovibrionaceae group. On the other hand, only a high concentration of sulfide of 1.5 kg m(-3) was found to be toxic for the Desulfococcus group in the bioreactor. When the sulfide in the feed was 1.00 kg m(-3) the sulfate-reducing capacity of the system decreased, and this decrease was more pronounced when the inlet sulfide was further increased to 1.5 kg m(-3).
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Microbes and the Sulfur Cycle
Acid Mine Drainage
Sulfur Assimilation
Preparation and Reactions of Sulfides
Microbes and Other Elemental Cycles
Microbial Corrosion

