IDENTIFICATION OF AN ANAEROBIC BACTERIUM WHICH REDUCES PERCHLORATE AND CHLORATE AS WOLINELLA-SUCCINOGENES

A bacterium coded as strain HAP-1 was isolated from a municipal anaero bic digestor for its ability to reduce > 7000 ppm perchlorate in waste waters. The organism is capable of the dissimilatory reduction of perc hlorate oi chlorate to chloride for energy and growth. It is a Gram-ne gative, non-sporeforming, obligately anaerobic, motile: thin rod. Anti biotic resistance, utilization of carbon substrates and utilization of electron acceptors by bacterium HAP-1 were similar to Wolinella succi nogenes. The organism's 16S rRNA sequence was 0.75% different from tha t of the type strain of W. succinogenes. The fatty acid compositions o f the two organisms are very similar. The morphological, physiological and 16S rRNA sequence data indicated that bacterium HAP-1 is a strain of W. succinogenes that can utilize perchlorate or chlorate as a term inal electron acceptor.