Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 29, 2026

Development of Sulfidogenic Sludge from Marine Sediments and Trichloroethylene Reduction in an Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket Reactor
Published on: October 15, 2015
Kinetics of microbial selenite reduction by novel bacteria isolated from activated sludge
Van Khanh Nguyen1, Trung Hau Nguyen2, Myung-Gyu Ha3
1Department of Microbiology, Pusan National University, Busan 46241, Republic of Korea.
Abstract:
A total of three bacteria isolated from activated sludge of a wastewater treatment plant were found to reduce selenite to elemental selenium nanoparticles as both amorphous nanospheres and monoclinic nanocrystals. The three isolated strains, which are potential candidates for bioremediation of selenite-contaminated water sources, were designated as Citrobacter sp. NVK-2, Providencia sp. NVK-2A, and Citrobacter sp. NVK-6 based on 16S rRNA sequencing. Despite belonging to the same genus, the kinetics of selenite reduction by strain NVK-2 (Vmax = 58.82 μM h-1, Km = 3737.12 μM) completely differed from that of strain NVK-6 (Vmax = 19.23 μM h-1, Km = 1300.17 μM). The selenite reduction rate by strain NVK-2A (Vmax = 9.26 μM h-1, Km = 3044.73 μM) was the slowest among the investigated microorganisms. The microbial selenite reduction rates according to various organic sources indicated that simple organic sources such as acetate and lactate were better than more complex organic sources such as propionate, butyrate, and glucose for selenite removal. Interestingly, the selenite reduction rate was significantly enhanced when the organic source was strategically divided into small portions and consecutively supplied to the culture.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Kinetic Energy
Enzyme Kinetics
Scientists typically study enzyme kinetics with a fixed amount of enzyme in the controlled environment of a test tube. When more reactant, or substrate, is...
Kinetic Molecular Theory: Molecular Velocities, Temperature, and Kinetic Energy
Oxidation-Reduction Reactions
Kinetic Friction
Elimination Kinetics: First-Order and Zero-Order
Drug clearance depends on the rate of drug elimination and its plasma concentration. Another important parameter is a drug's half-life, which is the time required for its concentration to decrease by half. In most cases, drug clearance follows first-order...

