Detection of corrosion-inducing prokaryotes using the dissimilatory sulfate reductase gene

摘要

A simple method for the collection of field samples for nucleic acid extraction and subsequential detection of microorganisms from various media such as aqueous samples, sediments and biofilms (sessile bacteria). This method is a quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based technique for detection of SRP in various media (i.e., aqueous samples, sediments, biofilms). The principle of this technique is based on the fact that all prokaryotes (Bacteria and Archaea) able to carry out sulfate reduction possess a gene that encodes dissimilatory sulfite reductase (DSR), the key enzyme in the sulfate reduction pathway. Microbial induced corrosion is due to bacterial growth and thus, tests for the detection of bacterial growth in fluids involved in oil processing are routinely performed. Thus far, the widely accepted methods for detection of bacterial growth of microorganisms involved in corrosion are cultivation dependent and, therefore, these methods underestimate the number of microorganisms present in a sample and require long incubation times.