Molecular Probes and Bioluminescent Reporters in Ecological Optimization of Biodegradation. (FY 91 AASERT)
Abstract
The goal of the research supported by this grant is to determine the role that biosurfactants and synthetic surfactants play in enhancing the bioavailability of sorbed or immiscible-phase aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs.) in particulate media. Increased bioavailability is assessed in terms of increased PAH-degrader population densities (nah gene frequencies) and their activities including the rate and/or extent of biodegradation and degradative gene expression as measured by bioluminescence response and mRNA levels. To achieve the proposed goal, bacterial strains containing specific degradative genes and bioluminescent reporter systems are being used to monitor the effectiveness of surfactants for enhancing the biodegradation of aromatic hydrocarbon contaminants in environmental simulations. These genetic marker systems allow for the quantitation of degradative gene frequency and activity. Construction of an improved bioluminescent reporter strain for PAH degradation is currently underway. This approach involves incorporation of a transposon containing the lower naphthalene pathway promoter fused to the lux genes (nah-lux) into the bacterial chromosome resulting in a stable gene fusion present as a single copy per cell.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 31, 1994
- Accession Number
- ADA284170
Entities
People
- G. S. Sayler
Organizations
- University of Tennessee