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Published on: October 15, 2015
Methyl tert-butyl ether biodegradation by microbial consortia obtained from soil samples of gasoline-polluted sites
Marcia Morales1, Elia Velázquez, Janet Jan
1Programa de Medio Ambiente y Seguridad, Instituto Mexicano del Petróleo, Eje Central Lazzaro Cárdenas 152, C.P 07730, Mexico DF. mibarria@imp.mx
Abstract:
Microbial consortia obtained from soil samples of gasoline-polluted sites were individually enriched with pentane, hexane, isooctane and toluene. Cometabolism with methyl tert-butyl ether, (MTBE), gave maximum degradation rates of 49, 12, 32 and 0 mg g(-1)protein h(-1), respectively. MTBE was fully degraded even when pentane was completely depleted with a cometabolic coefficient of 1 mgMTBE mg(-1)pentane. The analysis of 16S rDNA from isolated microorganisms in the pentane-adapted consortia showed that microorganisms could be assigned to Pseudomonas. This is the first work reporting the cometabolic mineralization of MTBE by consortium of this genus.
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