CHARACTERIZATION OF THE DIVERSITY OF SULFATE-REDUCING BACTERIA IN SOIL AND MINING WASTE-WATER ENVIRONMENTS BY NUCLEIC-ACID HYBRIDIZATION TECHNIQUES

Nucleic acid hybridization techniques were used to characterize the su lfate-reducing bacterial communities at seven waste water and two soil sites in Canada. Genomic DNA was obtained from liquid enrichment cult ures of samples taken from these nine sites. The liquid enrichment pro tocol favored growth of the sulfate-reducing bacterial component of th e communities at these sites. The genomic DNA preparations were analyz ed with (i) a specific gene probe aimed at a single genus (Desulfovibr io), (ii) a general 16S rRNA gene probe aimed at all genera of sulfate -reducing bacteria and other bacteria, and (iii) whole genome probes a imed at specific bacteria. This three-pronged approach Provided inform ation on the sulfate-reducing bacterial community structures for the n ine sites. These were compared with each other and with the sulfate-re ducing bacterial communities of western Canadian oil field production waters, studied previously. It was found that there is considerable di versity in the sulfate-reducing bacterial community at each site. Most sulfate-reducing bacteria isolated from distinct sites are genomicall y different and differ also from sulfate-reducing bacteria found in oi l field production waters.