ISOLATION OF SOME NEW SULFUR BACTERIA FROM ACTIVATED-SLUDGE

Abstract

During studies on bulking of activated sludge some new sulphur micro-organisms, which were able to grow aerobically and anaerobically on reduced sulphur compounds, were isolated on thiosulphate agar. These were capable of autotrophic and heterotrophic growth on a wide range of substrates. In view of their ability to oxidize reduced sulphur compounds, and because one of them was an oxidase- and catalase-positive, Gram-negative, motile coccus (0.36-0.48 .mu.m) it was named Thiosphaera persica. The second one was an oxidase- and catalase-positive, Gram-negative, motile rod (1.32-1.80 .mu.m) and was named Thiobacillus persica. The third one was oxidase-negative, catalase-positive, motile, Gram-negative and polymorphic and was named Sulphobacter polymorpha.