Contributions of fermentative acidogenic bacteria and sulfate-reducing bacteria to lactate degradation and sulfate reduction

The roles of fermentative acidogenic bacteria and sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) in lactate degradation and sulfate reduction in a sulfidogenic bioreactor were investigated by traditional chemical monitoring and culture-independent methods. A continuously stirred tank reactor fed with synthetic wastewater containing lactate and SO(2-)(4) at 35 degrees C, 10h of hydraulic retention time was used. The results showed that sulfate removal efficiency reached 99%, and sulfide and acetate were the main end products after 20 d of operation. 16S rRNA gene based clone libraries and single-strand conformation polymorphism profiles demonstrated that the proportion of SRB increased from 16% to 95%, and that Desulfobulbus spp., Desulfovibrio spp., Pseudomonas spp. and Clostridium spp. formed a stable, dominant community structure. The decreasing COD/SO(2-)(4) ratio had little effect on the community pattern except that Pseudomonas spp. and Desulfobulbus spp. increased slightly. The addition of molybdate to the influent significantly changed the microbial community, sulfate removal efficiency and the pattern of end products. Clostridium spp., Bacteroides spp. and Ruminococcus spp. became the dominant community members. The main end products switched from acetate to ethanol and then to propionate with the oxidation-reduction potentials increasing from -420 to -290 mV. A lactate degradation pathway was deduced: lactate served as the electronic donor for Desulfovibrio spp., or was fermented by Clostridium spp. and Bacteroides spp. to produce propionate or ethanol, which were subsequently utilized by Desulfobulbus spp. and Desulfovibrio spp. The acidotrophic SRB oxidized part of the acetate finally.     

Predicting molybdenum toxicity to higher plants: Influence of soil properties

The effect of soil properties on the toxicity of molybdenum (Mo) to four plant species was investigated. Soil organic carbon or ammonium-oxalate extractable Fe oxides were found to be the best predictors of the 50% effective dose (ED₅₀) of Mo in different soils, explaining > 65% of the variance in ED₅₀ for four species except for ryegrass (26-38%). Molybdenum concentrations in soil solution and consequently plant uptake were increased when soil pH was artificially raised because sorption of Mo to amorphous oxides is greatly reduced at high pH. The addition of sulphate significantly decreased Mo uptake by oilseed rape. For risk assessment, we suggest that Mo toxicity values for plants should be normalised using soil amorphous iron oxide concentrations.