Assessing the correlation between anaerobic toluene degradation activity and <Emphasis Type="Italic">bssA</Emphasis> concentrations in hydrocarbon-contaminated aquifer material |
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Authors: | Sufia K Kazy Amy L Monier Pedro J J Alvarez |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Rice University, MS 317; 6100 Main Street, Houston, TX 77005, USA;(2) Present address: Department of Biotechnology, National Institute of Technology Durgapur, Mahatma Gandhi Avenue, Durgapur, WB, 713209, India; |
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Abstract: | The assessment of biodegradation activity in contaminated aquifers is critical to demonstrate the performance of bioremediation
and natural attenuation and to parameterize models of contaminant plume dynamics. Real time quantitative PCR (qPCR) was used
to target the catabolic bssA gene (coding for benzylsuccinate synthase) and a 16S rDNA phylogenetic gene (for total Bacteria) as potential biomarkers to infer on anaerobic toluene degradation rates. A significant correlation (P = 0.0003) was found over a wide range of initial toluene concentrations (1–100 mg/l) between toluene degradation rates and
bssA concentrations in anaerobic microcosms prepared with aquifer material from a hydrocarbon contaminated site. In contrast,
the correlation between toluene degradation activity and total Bacteria concentrations was not significant (P = 0.1125). This suggests that qPCR targeting of functional genes might offer a simple approach to estimate in situ biodegradation
activity, which would enhance site investigation and modeling of natural attenuation at hydrocarbon-contaminated sites. |
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