Quick Detection of Sulfur Bacteria in Environmental Water Sample with SEM(scanning electron microscopy) coupled with Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectrometry

Abstract:

Sulfur-oxidizing bacteria play important roles in global sulfur cycle. Sulfur bacteria detection has been largely dependent on targeted gene sequencing technology or traditional cell cultivation which usually takes from days to months to finish. This cannot meet the requirements of some time-sensitive samples and/or complicated environmental samples. Since Energy-Dispersive X-ray Spectrometry (EDS) can be used to simultaneously detect multiple elements including sulfur in a sample with minimal sample treatment, the technology was applied to detect sulfur bacteria through the high sulfur content in the bacteria cell. We report the application of SEM (scanning electron microscopy) imaging coupled with EDS mapping for direct and quick detection of sulfur oxidizer in contaminated environmental water samples. The presence of sulfur bacteria can be confirmed within 24 hours after sampling. Subsequent 16S RNA gene sequencing results found the bacteria detected had over 99% similarity to Chromatium Okenii, confirming the bacterium was a sulfur oxidizer. The developed technique made it possible to quickly detect sulfur oxidizer in environmental sample and could have wide applications in sulfur bacteria detection in environmental water samples.