Systems Biology - Organisms - Desulfovibrio vulgaris

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Many bacteria, including members of the Geobacter, Shewanella, and Desulfovibrio species have been isolated from environments contaminated with heavy metals, which has sparked an interest in using these organisms for bioremediation. Desulfovibrio vuglaris Hildenborough (DvH) is our model organism because it is a well studied, anaerobic, sulfate-reducing bacterium, which has the ability to reduce toxic and radioactive metals to their insoluble forms. DvH is also environmentally relevant because it plays an important role in global sulfur cycling, and has been implicated in causing petroleum fouling. In an attempt to gain an understanding of the physiology of the anaerobe DvH and evaluate its potential application in bioremediation, this bacterium is being studied under environmentally relevant stress conditions. By investigating the metabolic processes that allow DvH to grow in contaminated environments and precipitate dangerous heavy metals, we may gain insight into manipulating microbes to remediate contaminated waste streams. This project is being completed as part of the Virtual Institute for Microbial Stress and Survival (VIMSS). For more information on the approaches being used and other groups involved in this project, please visit the Environmental Stress Pathway Project.