Abstract
There is a great need for estimating the potential for natural
biodegradation of contaminants in the environment, and the feasibility of
bioremediation technologies and inoculants. Functional genes responsible for
the biocatalysis of organic pollutants can usually be found in degrader
microorganisms at contaminated sites. Our approach has been to develop a
pathway microarray based on the determination of biodegradation activity.
Instead of spotting hundreds of genes on the microarray slide, we first
evaluated the potential of this technology for bioremediation monitoring
purposes. The developed method was based on direct hybridization of
functional genes of the PAH pathway. The gene probes were designed to study
the degradation potential of several genotypes in order to be able to
determine the biodegradation potential with few probes in environmental
samples.
In addition, the sensitivity and quantitivity were improved in several ways by
e.g. including internal standards and making the conditions more stringent
and optimal. The feasibility of this assay was verified by comparing several
methods such as quantitative PCR and biodegradation rate in an assay based on
14-labelled substrates. The methods were compared with artificially
contaminated soil samples. In addition, the success of the inoculated microbes
to enhance the rate of bioremediation was monitored by PCR-DGGE, including
their functional genes.
Original language | English |
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Publication status | Published - 2006 |
MoE publication type | Not Eligible |
Event | 11th International Symposium on Microbial Ecology - Wien, Austria Duration: 20 Aug 2006 → 25 Aug 2006 |
Conference
Conference | 11th International Symposium on Microbial Ecology |
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Country/Territory | Austria |
City | Wien |
Period | 20/08/06 → 25/08/06 |