Identification and characterization of an Aeromonas salmonicida (syn Haemophilus piscium) strain that reduces selenite to elemental red selenium.

A bacterium that reduces toxic and mobile selenite to insoluble elemental selenium (Se0) was isolated from a laboratory scale permeable reactive biobarrier. Biochemical tests and 16S rRNA gene sequence alignment identified the isolate as Aeromonas salmonicida. Two colony types were isolated, one more resistant to selenite than the other. Both grew on agar plates containing 16 mM: selenite, although the colony diameter was reduced to 8% of controls with the small colony type and to 18% with the large colony type. Further study was done with the large colony type. In anaerobic culture, this bacterium was able to use nitrate as a term electron acceptor but not selenate or selenite. In aerobic culture, when no nitrate was present, early log phase cells removed selenite at a rate of 2.6 +/- 0.42 micromol SeO3 (-2)/mg protein/day. Reduction was retarded by 25 mM: nitrate. Mutants with a diminished ability to reduce selenite to Se0 also had a reduced ability to reduce nitrate to nitrous oxide. This bacterium, or perhaps its enzymes or DNA, might be used to remove selenite from contaminated groundwaters.