A range of bacteriological, geochemical process-related and molecular techniques have been used to assess the microbial biodegradative potential in groundwater contaminated with phenol and other tar acids. The contaminant plume has travelled 500 m from the pollutant source over several decades. Samples were obtained from the plume using a multi-level sampler (MLS) positioned in two boreholes (b...

Loss of pesticide efficacy resulting from enhanced rates of microbial degradation has been observed with several pesticides including the insecticide carbofuran (2,3-dihydro-2,2-dimethyl-7-benzofuranyl methylcarbamate). Soils in which this phenomenon occurs are often referred to as "problem soils." Several previous studies have documented the temporal aspects of the conversion of a nonproblem s...

The degradation of various formulations of the racemic mixture and the enantiomers (including mefenoxam) of metalaxyl in typical soils from Germany and Cameroon in controlled incubation experiments was studied. The kinetics of the degradation or transformation was determined by means of reversed phase HPLC, while the enantiomeric ratios were measured by HPLC with a chiral Whelk O1 column. The d...

In the present study, a defined mixed microbial consortium was investigated for their ability to utilize three different monochlorophenols (MCPs) and 2,4-DCP individually and in the mixture. None of the individual strains were able to utilize 3-CP and 4-CP, but when they were mixed to form defined consortium, they have shown great potential and degradation of high concentration of 3-CP and 4-CP...

The microbial degradation of two Venezuelan crude oils enriched in 25-norhopanes was examined after a 5-week aerobic incubation using a microbial enrichment culture. Analysis of the oils using gas chromatography±mass spectrometry revealed degradation of the C28 tricyclic terpane, the C29±C34 17a(H),21b(H)-hopanes, and the C29 17a(H),21b(H)-25-norhopane. The C35 17a(H),21b(H)-hopane and 18a(H)-o...

BACKGROUND Efficient industrial processes for converting plant lignocellulosic materials into biofuels are a key to global efforts to come up with alternative energy sources to fossil fuels. Novel cellulolytic enzymes have been discovered in microbial genomes and metagenomes of microbial communities. However, the identification of relevant genes without known homologs, and the elucidation of th...

Thiocyanate (SCN- ) is a toxic compound that forms when cyanide (CN- ), used to recover gold, reacts with sulfur species. SCN- -degrading microbial communities have been studied, using bioreactors fed synthetic wastewater. The inclusion of suspended solids in the form of mineral tailings, during the development of the acclimatized microbial consortium, led to the selection of an active plankton...

Permafrost-affected soils in the Northern latitudes store huge amounts of organic carbon (OC) that is prone to microbial degradation and subsequent release of greenhouse gasses to the atmosphere. In Greenland, the consequences of permafrost thaw have only recently been addressed, and predictions on its impact on the carbon budget are thus still highly uncertain. However, the fate of OC is not o...