Summary
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1.
Calculation showed that rates of sulphate reduction by the Hildenborough strain of Desulfovibrio vulgaris in non-nutrient buffer with gaseous hydrogen as electron donor were as high as, or higher than, the maximum possible rate of sulphate reduction during growth.
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2.
Respirometry showed that H2 oxidation was completely suppressed during growth unless the whole electron transport system was bypassed with a redox dye or the sulphate reductase system (terminal electron acceptor) was bypassed with FMN.
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3.
Growth experiments with intermittent sulphate feeds showed that cells under H2 “wasted” most of the sulphate by a reaction unconnected with growth, and thus made much less growth than did similar cultures under N2.
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4.
H2 exerted no discernible “lactate-sparing” action (that is, it did not serve as an alternative energy source) in low-lactate medium.
The results are discussed in relation to metallic corrosion by the sulphate-reducing bacteria.
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Khosrovi, B., Macpherson, R. & Miller, J.D.A. Some observations on growth and hydrogen uptake by Desulfovibrio vulgaris . Archiv. Mikrobiol. 80, 324–337 (1971). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00406220
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00406220