This special issue in honor of the career of Dr. Brenda Little brings together contributions presented during the Research Topical Symposium (RTS) on Microbiologically Influenced Corrosion (MIC) organized by AMPP in 2024. Brenda has had a profound influence on the science and research of MIC, producing over 300 publications (and still growing) during her career. She has touched the lives of many researchers in the field of MIC through her generosity and collaborative spirit. Brenda has also devoted countless time in service to NACE International and AMPP. In 1998, Brenda was recognized as a NACE International Fellow and later served on the NACE board of directors. Brenda chaired the Awards, Publications, and Research committees during her career. In addition, Brenda chaired multiple technical symposia on MIC including the RTS on microbiologically influenced corrosion in 2002. Brenda also served as an Associate Editor for CORROSION journal and contributed to standards used in MIC research.
The first section of this special issue starts with a perspective by Lee and Little1 on the article by Little, et al., “Diagnosing Microbiologically Influenced Corrosion: A State-of-the-Art Review,”2 published in 2006. The perspective discusses “What has changed?” and “What has not changed?” in diagnosing MIC using multidisciplinary techniques and evidence since the original article’s publication. A copy of the original article is included after the perspective for convenience.
The four additional articles in this section examine different aspects of MIC research. The work by Kotu3 details the need for multiple lines of evidence for investigations into MIC. Despite the increased knowledge in understanding fundamental aspects, there are no simple thresholds for microbiological and environmental parameters that can be stated as conclusive MIC evidence. Case studies are provided to illustrate the multidisciplinary data integration methodology for MIC threat assessment.
The work by Stein, et al.,4 investigates the influence of yeast extract addition on in vitro experiments of MIC. Yeast extract is a common nutrient added to solutions to stimulate and increase bacterial growth. Results indicated that the presence of yeast extract affected corrosion rates in addition to altering the microbial community population when compared to experiments without yeast extract.
The work by Okpala, et al.,5 examines the corrosion mechanism of carbon steel at elevated temperatures in the presence of an oil field-isolated, thermophilic sulfate-reducing consortium (tSRM). The microbial communities of the biofilm (i.e., sessile) colonized on the carbon steel surface were substantially distinct compared to those in the water column (i.e., planktonic). The experimental results showed that at elevated temperatures, tSRM can contribute to increased corrosion rates of carbon steel even in the absence of organic substrates (electron donors) as long as sulfate is present as the electron acceptor.
The last work in the section is an article by Lahme and Mantilla Aguas6 that details the development of a recombinant antibody for use as a MIC biomarker. An immunoassay was optimized to detect a biomarker associated with certain methanogenic archaea associated with high corrosion rates. Corrosive and noncorrosive oil field enrichment microbial cultures were tested using the biomarker immunoassay. Results showed the applicability of the biomarker for MIC detection in the field.
The articles contained in this section will hopefully inspire continued research in the field of MIC. To end on a personal note: I had the pleasure to work with Brenda for the majority of my career. Brenda would describe herself as an experimentalist; to me she will always be a mentor and, more importantly, a friend.
