Microbial biodegradation

About: Microbial biodegradation is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 1647 publications have been published within this topic receiving 75473 citations.

Biological degradation of selected hydrocarbons in an old PAH/creosote contaminated soil from a gas work site.

Abstract: An old PAH/creosote contaminated soil (total ∼300 μg PAH/g soil) from a former gas work site in Stockholm, Sweden, has been treated at 20 °C with the addition of various nutrients and inoculated with bacteria (isolated from the soil) to enhance the degradation of selected hydrocarbons. Microcosm studies showed that the soil consisted of two contaminant fractions: one available, easily degraded fraction and a strongly sorbed, recalcitrant one. The bioavailable fraction, monitored by headspace solid phase microextraction, contained aromatics with up to three rings, and these were degraded within 20 days down to non-detectable levels (ng PAH/g soil) by both the indigenous bacteria and the externally inoculated samples. The nutrient additives were: a minimal medium (Bushnell-Haas), nitrate, nitrite, potting soil (Anglamark, Sweden), sterile water and aeration with Bushnell-Haas medium. After 30 days treatment most of the sorbed fractions were still present in the soil. Stirring or mechanical mixing of the soil slurries had the greatest effect on degradation, indicating that the substances were too strongly sorbed for the microorganisms. When stirring the choice of nutrient seemed less important. For the non-stirred samples the addition of nitrate with the bacterial inoculum showed the best degradation, compared to the other non-stirred samples. At the end of the experiments, accumulations of metabolites/degradation products, such as 9H-fluorenone, 4-hydroxy-9H-fluorenone, 9,10-phenanthrenedione and 4H-cyclopenta[def]phenanthrenone were detected. The metabolite 4-hydroxy-9H-fluorenone increased by several orders of magnitude during the biological treatments. Microbial activity in the soil was measured by oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide production.

Root Exudation: The Ecological Driver of Hydrocarbon Rhizoremediation

Abstract: Rhizoremediation is a bioremediation technique whereby microbial degradation of organic contaminants occurs in the rhizosphere. It is considered to be an effective and affordable “green technology” for remediating soils contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons. Root exudation of a wide variety of compounds (organic, amino and fatty acids, carbohydrates, vitamins, nucleotides, phenolic compounds, polysaccharides and proteins) provide better nutrient uptake for the rhizosphere microbiome. It is thought to be one of the predominant drivers of microbial communities in the rhizosphere and is therefore a potential key factor behind enhanced hydrocarbon biodegradation. Many of the genes responsible for bacterial adaptation in contaminated soil and the plant rhizosphere are carried by conjugative plasmids and transferred among bacteria. Because root exudates can stimulate gene transfer, conjugation in the rhizosphere is higher than in bulk soil. A better understanding of these phenomena could thus inform the development of techniques to manipulate the rhizosphere microbiome in ways that improve hydrocarbon bioremediation.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) occurrence and remediation methods

Abstract: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are potentially mutagenic and carcinogenic substances occurring at various concentrations in atmosphere, soils, waters and sediments. PAHs, inherited both from natural and anthropogenic processes, are persistent organic pollutants (POP) due to their chemical stability and biodegradation resistance. The increase of road transportation, and of industrial and agricultural activities has led to a notable build up of PAH amounts in the environmental media. For cases of heavy soil pollution, the main remediation methods are containment, thermal desorption, incineration, and microbial degradation. Phytoremediation, a low-cost process based on microbial activation in the root zone, is a novel method under deep investigation.