Desulfococcus

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A Microbial Biorealm page on the genus Desulfococcus

Classification

Higher order taxa:

Bacteria; Proteobacteria; delta/epsilon subdivisions; Deltaproteobacteria; Desulfobacterales; Desulfobacteraceae

Species:

NCBI: Taxonomy Genome: Desulfococcus oleovorans Hxd3 '

Desulfococcus biacutus, Desulfococcus multivorans, Desulfococcus oleovorans, Desulfococcus sp. DSM 8541

Description and Significance

Desulfococcus group is cultivated bacteria as well as Desulfosarcina. They can completely oxidize acetate by using sulfate as electron acceptor under anoxic condition. They are involved in Chemoautotrophs, anaerobic, thermophilic and mesophilic bacteria. In coastal marine sediments, over 50% of carbon is decomposed by sulfate-reducing bacteria including Desulfococcus. Also, they play an important role in the cycling of sulfur compounds of in sea water(Das et al 2006).

Genome Structure

The genome of Desulfococcus oleovorans is completely sequenced. Strain Hxd3 of Desulfococcus oleoborans was isolated from an oil tank. Desulfococcus oleoborans can use alkanes from C12 to C20 due to strain Hxd3, they have best growth rate in the range form C15 to C18.

Cell Structure and Metabolism

Desulfococcus are sphere shape bacteria. The two remaining bacteria in the current list are both obligate anaerobes isolated from oil production plants. Desulfococcus oleovorans is a sulfate-reducing δ-proteobacterium that was isolated using hexadecane as the sole carbon source. This organism could grow on alkanes from C12 to C20, 1-hexadecene, 1-hexadecanol, 2-hexadecanol, palmitate and stearate using sulfate as terminal electron acceptor (Aeckersberg et al., 1991). It has been proposed that reduction of sulfate in oil by D. oleovorans and related bacteria could be responsible for the accumulation of sulfide in oil deposits and oil production plants (Rueter et al., 1994).

Ecology

References

Edited by student of Kate Scow