Bacterial diversity of an acid mine drainage beside the Xichú River (Mexico) accessed by culture-dependent and culture-independent approaches

Xichú River is a Mexican river located in an environmental preservation area called Sierra Gorda Biosphere Reserve. Around it, there are tons of abandoned mine residues that represent a serious environmental issue. Sediment samples of Xichú River, visibly contaminated by flows of an acid mine drainage, were collected to study their prokaryotic diversity. The study was based on both cultural and non-cultural approaches. The analysis of total 16S rRNA gene by MiSEQ sequencing allowed to identify 182 Operational Taxonomic Units. The community was dominated by Pseudomonadota, Bacteroidota, "Desulfobacterota" and Acidobacteriota (27, 21, 19 and 16%, respectively). Different culture conditions were used focusing on the isolation of anaerobic bacteria, including sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) and arsenate-reducing bacteria (ARB). Finally, 16 strains were isolated. Among them, 12 were phylogenetically identified, with two strains being SRB, belonging to the genus Solidesulfovibrio ("Desulfobacterota"), while ten are ARB belonging to the genera Azospira (Pseudomonadota), Peribacillus (Bacillota), Raineyella and Propionicimonas (Actinomycetota). The isolate representative of Raineyella genus probably corresponds to a new species, which, besides arsenate, also reduces nitrate, nitrite, and fumarate.

Desulfobotulus mexicanus sp. nov., a novel sulfate-reducing bacterium isolated from the sediment of an alkaline crater lake in Mexico

A novel Gram-negative, non-spore-forming, vibrio-shaped, anaerobic, alkaliphilic, sulfate-reducing bacterium, designated strain PAR22N^T, was isolated from sediment samples collected at an alkaline crater lake in Guanajuato (Mexico). Strain PAR22N^T grew at temperatures between 15 and 37 °C (optimum, 32 °C), at pH between pH 8.3 and 10.1 (optimum, pH 9.0-9.6), and in the presence of NaCl up to 10 %. Pyruvate, 2-methylbutyrate and fatty acids (4-18 carbon atoms) were used as electron donors in the presence of sulfate as a terminal electron acceptor and were incompletely oxidized to acetate and CO₂. Besides sulfate, both sulfite and elemental sulfur were also used as terminal electron acceptors and were reduced to sulfide. The predominant fatty acids were summed feature 10 (C_18 : 1  ω7c and/or C_18 : 1 ω9t and/or C_18 : 1 ω12t), C_18 : 1  ω9c and C_16 : 0. The genome size of strain PAR22N^T was 3.8 Mb including 3391 predicted genes. The genomic DNA G+C content was 49.0 mol%. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that it belongs to the genus Desulfobotulus within the class Deltaproteobacteria. Its closest phylogenetic relatives are Desulfobotulus alkaliphilus (98.4 % similarity) and Desulfobotulus sapovorans (97.9 % similarity). Based on phylogenetic, phenotypic and chemotaxonomic characteristics, we propose that the isolate represents a novel species of the genus Desulfobotulus with the name Desulfobotulus mexicanus sp. nov. The type strain is PAR22N^T (=DSM 105758^T=JCM 32146^T).

Recent advances in dissimilatory sulfate reduction: From metabolic study to application

Sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) are a group of diverse anaerobic microorganisms omnipresent in natural habitats and engineered environments that use sulfur compounds as the electron acceptor for energy metabolism. Dissimilatory sulfate reduction (DSR)-based techniques mediated by SRB have been utilized in many sulfate-containing wastewater treatment systems worldwide, particularly for acid mine drainage, groundwater, sewage and industrial wastewater remediation. However, DSR processes are often operated suboptimally and disturbances are common in practical application. To improve the efficiency and robustness of SRB-based processes, it is necessary to study SRB metabolism and operational conditions. In this review, the mechanisms of DSR processes are reviewed and discussed focusing on intracellular and extracellular electron transfer with different electron donors (hydrogen, organics, methane and electrodes). Based on the understanding of the metabolism of SRB, responses of SRB to environmental stress (pH-, temperature-, and salinity-related stress) are summarized at the species and community levels. Application in these stressed conditions is discussed and future research is proposed. The feasibility of recovering energy and resources such as biohydrogen, hydrocarbons, polyhydroxyalkanoates, magnetite and metal sulfides through the use of SRB were investigated but some long-standing questions remain unanswered. Linking the existing scientific understanding and observations to practical application is the challenge as always for promotion of SRB-based techniques.