Validation of Biotechnology for Quantifying the Abundance and Activity of Vinyl-Chloride Oxidizers in Contaminated Groundwater
Abstract
The objective of this project was to demonstrate and validate quantitative, real-time PCR (qPCR) technologies for enumerating the abundance and functionality of vinyl chloride (VC)-oxidizing bacteria (i.e. etheneotrophs) at several VC-contaminated sites. The qPCR technology targets the functional genes known to be involved in the aerobic VC and ethene biodegradation pathways of etheneotrophs. We collected over 100 distinct groundwater samples from 6 different contaminated DoD sites, extracted nucleic acids and performed qPCR estimation of gene and transcript abundance from etheneotrophs, methanotrophs and anaerobic VC-dechlorinators. These genes were present in 99 and expressed in 59 of the samples. Etheneotroph functional genes (etnC and etnE) and VC reductive dehalogenase genes (bvcA and vcrA) were strongly related to VC concentrations (p < 0.001). We also used cryogenic soil coring to collect 134 high-resolution samples from a contaminated aquifer and investigated the spatial relationships between same set of VC biodegradation genes. Functional genes for etheneotrophs, methanotrophs, and anaerobic VC dechlorinators coexisted in 48 of soil samples, most of which appeared anaerobic. Both the groundwater and aquifer sediment sampling campaigns indicated that aerobic etheneotrophs could play a significant role in VC biodegradation in aquifers that have little dissolved oxygen.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 01, 2019
- Accession Number
- AD1077048
Entities
People
- Timothy E Mattes
Organizations
- University of Iowa