Abstract
The understanding of microbiologically influenced corrosion (MIC), specifically the role different species of microorganisms play in the process, is continuously evolving. Recently, bacteria beyond typically implicated sulfate reducing bacteria (SRB) and acid producing bacteria (APB) have been found to influence corrosion. Sulfur oxidizing bacteria (SOB) populations, for example, have been linked to the corrosion of concrete and steel. As with the other MIC organisms found in gas industry samples, modern molecular techniques targeting functional gene DNA are the most accurate ways to identify and quantify the abundance of SOB. We studied the abundance and diversity of the soxB gene in oil and gas industry samples using sequencing and phylogenetic analysis. We have developed a quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) assay to detect and quantify SOB through the amplification of the soxB subunit of the thiosulfate-oxidizing gene complex. The ability to accurately quantify the SOB in environments where MIC is suspected will give a more complete understanding of the process.
