Isolation and Characterization of NP4, Arsenate-Reducing Sulfurospirillum, from Maine Groundwater
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 133, Issue 1
Abstract
Parts of New England have naturally high arsenic concentrations in groundwater. High arsenic correlates broadly with bedrock type, but levels are patchy, so other conditions must affect arsenic mobilization. Microorganisms capable of arsenate respiration, if present, could affect arsenic speciation and mobility in groundwater. An arsenate-reducing bacterium, designated NP4, was isolated from groundwater obtained from a well in Northport, Me., with extremely high arsenic. Sequencing of the 16S rDNA showed that NP4 groups with the Sulfurospirillum genus. It can grow using arsenate, nitrate, iron(III), selenate, manganese(IV), sulfite, sulfur or thiosulfate as terminal electron acceptors and lactate, formate and pyruvate as electron donors. It can also grow on fumarate or lactate alone. This Sulfurospirillum isolate is distinct from other members of the genus in its carbon and electron acceptor usage. The activity of this type of microorganism could negatively affect groundwater quality by converting to the more toxic and difficult to remove form.
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Acknowledgments
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. NSF0134054 and the USGS WRRI program. The writers thank Dr. Katherine Boettcher for initially amplifying the NP4 DNA, Dr. Brian Perkins for assistance with the HPLC, and Cheng Chen for assistance in the laboratory.
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Information
Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 133 • Issue 1 • January 2007
Pages: 81 - 88
Copyright
© 2007 ASCE.
History
Received: Sep 13, 2005
Accepted: Jun 14, 2006
Published online: Jan 1, 2007
Published in print: Jan 2007
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