Purdy K J, Embley T M, Nedwell D B
Department of Zoology Natural History Museum, London, UK.
Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek. 2002 Aug;81(1-4):181-7. doi: 10.1023/a:1020550215012.
Sulphate-reducing bacteria (SRB) play a vital role both the carbon and sulphur cycles and thus are extremely important components of the global microbial community. However, it is clear that the ecology, the distribution and activity of different SRB groups is poorly understood. Probing of rRNA suggests that different sediments have distinctly different patterns of SRB with complex factors controlling the activity of these organisms. The linking of community structure and function using sediment slurry microcosms suggests that certain groups of SRB, e.g., Desulfobacter and Desulfobulbus, can be linked to the use of specific substrates in situ. However, it is still unclear what environmental substrates are utilised by the majority of known SRBs. The work to date has greatly enhanced our understanding of the ecology of these organisms and is beginning to suggest patterns in their distribution and activity that may be relevant to understanding microbial ecology in general.
硫酸盐还原菌（SRB）在碳循环和硫循环中都起着至关重要的作用，因此是全球微生物群落的极其重要的组成部分。然而，很明显，人们对不同SRB菌群的生态学、分布和活性了解甚少。对rRNA的探测表明，不同的沉积物具有截然不同的SRB模式，有复杂的因素控制着这些生物的活性。利用沉积物浆液微观模型将群落结构与功能联系起来，这表明某些SRB菌群，如脱硫杆菌属和脱硫球菌属，可能与原位特定底物的利用有关。然而，目前仍不清楚大多数已知SRB利用哪些环境底物。迄今为止的研究工作极大地增进了我们对这些生物生态学的理解，并开始揭示它们的分布和活性模式，这些模式可能与总体上理解微生物生态学有关。
