Lineage: Bacteria[2653]; Proteobacteria[1083]; Deltaproteobacteria[75]; Desulfovibrionales[25]; Desulfovibrionaceae[21]; Desulfovibrio[18]
Desulfovibrio. These organisms typically grow anaerobically, although some can tolerate oxygen, and they utilize a wide variety of electron acceptors, including sulfate, sulfur, nitrate, and nitrite. A number of toxic metals are reduced, including uranium (VI), chromium (VI) and iron (III), making these organisms of interest as bioremediators.Metal corrosion, a problem that is partly the result of the collective activity of these bacteria, produces billions of dollars in losses each year to the petroleum industry. These organisms are also responsible for the production of poisonous hydrogen sulfide gas in marine sediments and in terrestrial environments such as drilling sites for petroleum products. Desulfovibrio vulgaris. This species is a sulfate reducer commonly found in a variety of soil and aquatic environments. It respires by electron transfer using the heme group in c-type cytochromes, and can corrode metal by cathodic depolarization using the same process. Its preferred carbon substrates are lactate and pyruvate. The ability of this species to reduce Uranium (VI)_ox to Uranium (IV)_red make it a good candidate for bioremediation of sites with uranium-contaminated groundwater. [Source: NCBI Genome ]