Document Type
Article
Department or Administrative Unit
Biological Sciences
Publication Date
12-1-2001
Abstract
The potential for aerobic methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) degradation was investigated with microcosms containing aquifer sediment and groundwater from four MTBE-contaminated sites characterized by oxygen-limited in situ conditions. MTBE depletion was observed for sediments from two sites (e.g., 4.5 mg/liter degraded in 15 days after a 4-day lag period), whereas no consumption of MTBE was observed for sediments from the other sites after 75 days. For sediments in which MTBE was consumed, 43 to 54% of added [U-14C]MTBE was mineralized to14CO2. Molecular phylogenetic analyses of these sediments indicated the enrichment of species closely related to a known MTBE-degrading bacterium, strain PM1. At only one site, the presence of water-soluble gasoline components significantly inhibited MTBE degradation and led to a more pronounced accumulation of the metabolite tert-butyl alcohol. Overall, these results suggest that the effects of oxygen and water-soluble gasoline components on in situ MTBE degradation will vary from site to site and that phylogenetic analysis may be a promising predictor of MTBE biodegradation potential.
Recommended Citation
Kane, S. R., Beller, H. R., Legler, T. C., Koester, C. J., Pinkart, H. C., Halden, R. U., & Happel, A. M. (2001). Aerobic Biodegradation of Methyltert-Butyl Ether by Aquifer Bacteria from Leaking Underground Storage Tank Sites. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 67(12), 5824–5829. https://doi.org/10.1128/aem.67.12.5824-5829.2001
Journal
Applied and Environmental Microbiology
Rights
Copyright © 2001 American Society for Microbiology.
Included in
Bacteriology Commons, Biochemistry Commons, Environmental Microbiology and Microbial Ecology Commons
Comments
This article was originally published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology. The full-text article from the publisher can be found here.