Enhancement of the microbial community biomass and diversity during air sparging bioremediation of a soil highly contaminated with kerosene and BTEX

Appl Microbiol Biotechnol. 2009 Mar;82(3):565-77. doi: 10.1007/s00253-009-1868-0. Epub 2009 Jan 27.

Abstract

In order to obtain insights in complexity shifts taking place in natural microbial communities under strong selective pressure, soils from a former air force base in the Czech Republic, highly contaminated with jet fuel and at different stages of a bioremediation air sparging treatment, were analyzed. By tracking phospholipid fatty acids and 16S rRNA genes, a detailed monitoring of the changes in quantities and composition of the microbial communities developed at different stages of the bioventing treatment progress was performed. Depending on the length of the air sparging treatment that led to a significant reduction in the contamination level, we observed a clear shift in the soil microbial community being dominated by Pseudomonads under the harsh conditions of high aromatic contamination to a status of low aromatic concentrations, increased biomass content, and a complex composition with diverse bacterial taxonomical branches.

Publication types

  • Evaluation Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Bacteria / classification
  • Bacteria / genetics
  • Bacteria / isolation & purification*
  • Bacteria / metabolism
  • Biodegradation, Environmental
  • Biodiversity*
  • Biomass
  • Hydrocarbons, Aromatic / metabolism*
  • Kerosene*
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Phylogeny
  • Soil Microbiology*
  • Soil Pollutants / metabolism*

Substances

  • Hydrocarbons, Aromatic
  • Kerosene
  • Soil Pollutants