A bacterium capable of metabolizing endosulfan (6,7,8,9,10,10-hexachloro-1,5,5a,6,9,9a-hexahydro-6,9-methano-2,4,3-benzodioxathiepine3-oxide) was isolated from cotton-growing soil and effectively shown to degrade endosulfan into endosulfan sulfate. The bacterium degraded 50% of the compound within 3 days of incubation. Endosulfan sulfate was the only terminal product and no other metabolites we...

It is generally considered that the addition of biodiesel has a positive effect on biodegradation of diesel fuel hydrocarbons. Although the stimulating effect has been widely recognized, the exact mechanisms behind this phenomenon are still not entirely elucidated. While the presence of biodiesel may induce dispersion of diesel fuel hydrocarbons, thereby increasing their overall bioavailability...

Used engine oil (UEO) constitutes a serious environmental problem due to the difficulty of disposal off or reuse. Ten bacterial strains with biodegradation potential were isolated from UEO-contaminated soil sample using enrichment technique. Two strains which exhibited the highest degradation %, 51 ± 1.2 and 48 ± 1.5, respectively, were selected. Based on the morphological, biochemical characte...

Glyphosate is among the most widely used broad spectrum herbicides in the world because they are highly efficacious, cost effective, practically non-toxic and degrade readily in the environment. The herbicide is inactivated and biodegraded by soil microbes, degradation rate depends on soil microbial activity and factors that affect this activity. Glyphosate degradation rates vary considerably a...

In this study, biodegradation of corn starch/glycerol/Na-MMT nanocomposites by soil burial tests were carried out for up to 6 months. Films were prepared by casting method according to central composite design and response surface methodology was applied for analysis of the results. The effects of formulation on the water solubility, contact angle and tensile strength of starch films were inves...

Enhanced biodegradation in the rhizosphere has been reported for many organic xenobiotic compounds, although the mechanisms are not fully understood. The purpose of this study was to discover whether rhizosphere-enhanced biodegradation is due to selective enrichment of degraders through growth on compounds produced by rhizodeposition. We monitored the mineralization of [U-(14)C]2,4-dichlorophen...

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a good environmental microorganism capable of degrading decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-209). This paper studied the effect of Cu2+ and humic acid (HA) extracted from e-waste contaminated soils on biodegradation of BDE-209 by P. aeruginosa. The adsorption isotherms of Cu2+ on HA, the crude enzyme activity, cell surface morphology, and biodegradation pathway were also inve...

Nocardioides sp. strain CF8 was isolated from a soil sample collected at the Hanford Department of Energy site, Richland, WA. The strain was identified in microcosms based on its ability to grow on butane and has been characterized for its potential applications in the biodegradation of halogenated hydrocarbons. Here, the draft genome sequence is reported.

Contaminant biodegradation in soils is hampered by the heterogeneous distribution of degrading communities colonizing isolated microenvironments as a result of the soil architecture. Over the last years, soil salinization was recognized as an additional problem especially in arid and semiarid ecosystems as it drastically reduces the activity and motility of bacteria. Here, we studied the import...

The transport and fate of many contaminants in subsurface systems can be influenced by several coupled processes, such as nonlinear, rate-limited sorption and biodegradation. We investigated the transport in soil of a model organic compound, 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), influenced by nonlinear, rate-limited sorption and biodegradation. Miscible displacement and batch sorption experim...