Automated screening of inhibitors of bacterial dissimilatory sulfate reduction

An automated assay system was used to screen inhibitors of sulfide formation by sulfate-reducing bacteria. The system used a Technicon AutoAnalyzer II instrument both as an incubation chamber (to combine bacterial cells, substrates, and test compounds) and as an analyzer of the amount of sulfide formed during incubation. A lactate-limited chemostat was used to provide a reproducible inoculum of Desulfovibrio desulfuricans cells. The assay was useful in detecting even small changes in the rate of sulfate reduction resulting from exposure to inhibitors.