A sulfate-reducing bacterium, designated as strain R2, was isolated from wastewater of a ball-bearing manufacturing facility in Tomsk, Western Siberia. This isolate was resistant up to 800 mg Cu/l in the growth medium. By comparison, Cu-resistance of reference cultures of sulfate-reducing bacteria ranged from 50 to 75 mg Cu/l. Growth experiments with strain R2 showed that Cu was an essential trace element and, on one hand, enhanced growth at concentrations up to 10 mg/l but, on the other hand, the growth rate decreased and lag-period extended at copper concentrations of >50 mg/l. Phenotypic characteristics and a 1078 bp nucleotide sequence of the 16S rDNA placed strain R2 within the genus Desulfovibrio. DesulfovibrioR2 carried at least one plasmid of approximately of 23.1 kbp. A 636 bp fragment ot the pcoRgene of the pcooperon that encodes Cu resistance was amplified by PCR from plasmid DNA of strain R2. The pcogenes are involved in Cu-resistance in some enteric and aerobic soil bacteria. DesulfovibrioR2 is a prospective strain for bioremediation purposes and for developing a homologous system for transformation of Cu-resistance in sulfate-reducing bacteria.