1996 Volume 45 Issue 10 Pages 588-594
Effects of ferrous ions on the shape and activity of sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) have been investigated using a phase-difference microscope, hydrogen sulfide gas detector, and measuring the amount of ferrous sulfide in the medium. SRB changed its shape at an interval of several hours as the culturing time increased. At the time of maximum activity of SRB, SRB evolved a significant amount of hydrogen sulfide and changed from rod like shape to comma like shape. After this period, pH of the medium increased above 9.0 and the size of SRB became less with reduced evolution of hydrogen sulfide. Even if some amount of HCl was added to keep pH of the medium at 7.0, the hydrogen sulfide evolution was not recovered. In the medium with high concentration (0.01mol kg-1) of ferrous ions, colloidal substance were present and seemed to provide a comfortable place for SRB to grow, ripen, and split easily. In the medium with low concentration (0.00036mol kg-1) of ferrous ions, the colloidal materials were few and the number of SRB was less than that in the high concentration (0.01mol kg-1) medium. It is concluded that ferrous ions do not only affect directly the metabolism of SRB, but also form the colloidal substance on which SRB can keep alive easily.
