Metal accumulation by bacteria with particular reference to dissimilatory sulphate‐reducing bacteria

Abstract

Abstract Dissimilatory sulphate‐reducing bacteria, genera Desulfovibrio and Desulfotomaculum , exhibit a superior ability, over assimilatory organisms, to extract trace amounts of metals from culture media. This property does not appear to be solely a function of the presence of H 2 S. In media containing elevated amounts of Fe, electron dense particles, provisionally identified as FeS, are deposited within the cells of dissimilatory bacteria.