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Published on: October 15, 2015
Correspondence between community structure and function during succession in phenol- and
Héctor L Ayala-Del-Río1, Stephen J Callister, Craig S Criddle
1Center for Microbial Ecology, 540 Plant and Soil Sciences Building, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824-1325, USA.
Applied and Environmental Microbiology
|August 6, 2004
Summary
Long-term trichloroethene (TCE) exposure in bioreactors selected for a stable microbial community with consistent TCE degradation. In contrast, unstressed communities showed dynamic structure and function.
Area of Science:
- Environmental microbiology
- Bioremediation
- Microbial ecology
Background:
- Trichloroethene (TCE) is a common environmental pollutant.
- Understanding microbial community responses to contaminants is crucial for effective bioremediation.
- Aerobic sequencing batch reactors (SBRs) are used for wastewater treatment and contaminant degradation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the long-term effects of TCE exposure on microbial community structure and function in aerobic SBRs.
- To compare the microbial community dynamics and TCE degradation rates in reactors with and without TCE stress.
- To correlate microbial community composition and genetic profiles with TCE transformation efficiency.
Main Methods:
- Two aerobic SBRs were operated for over 2 years, one fed phenol and the other phenol plus TCE.
- TCE transformation rates were measured using kinetic analysis.
- Microbial community structure was analyzed using terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) of 16S rRNA genes.
- Phenol hydroxylase genotypes were determined using restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP).
Main Results:
- The phenol-plus-TCE reactor exhibited stable TCE degradation rates over 2 years, with a second-order rate coefficient of 0.044 L mg(-1) day(-1).
- The phenol-only reactor showed higher but unstable TCE degradation rates (0.093 L mg(-1) day(-1)) and dynamic community structure.
- Stable TCE degradation in the stressed reactor correlated with a stable microbial community structure and specific phenol hydroxylase genotypes.
- Unstressed communities displayed dynamic structure and function, with fluctuating TCE degradation rates.
Conclusions:
- Long-term TCE stress selects for a stable microbial community structure that supports consistent, albeit potentially slower, TCE degradation.
- Microbial community structure is directly linked to bioremediation function (TCE degradation rates).
- Distinct microbial communities and genetic profiles are associated with stable versus dynamic TCE degradation performance.
