Bacterial community analysis of shallow groundwater undergoing sequential anaerobic and aerobic chloroethene biotransformation

doi:10.1111/j.1574-6941.2007.00290.x

If you are seeing this message, you may be experiencing temporary network problems. Please wait a few minutes and refresh the page. If the problem persists, you may wish to report it to your local Network Manager.

It is also possible that your web browser is not configured or not able to display style sheets. In this case, although the visual presentation will be degraded, the site should continue to be functional. We recommend using the latest version of Microsoft or Mozilla web browser to help minimise these problems.

Wiley InterScience

FEMS Microbiology Ecology

Volume 60 Issue 2, Pages 299 - 311

Published Online: 26 Mar 2007

Published on behalf of the Federation of European Microbiological Societies

Go to Society Site

< Previous Abstract | Next Abstract >

Save Article to My Profile Download Citation Request Permissions

Abstract | References | Full Text: HTML, PDF (Size: 514K) | Related Articles | Citation Tracking

Bacterial community analysis of shallow groundwater undergoing sequential anaerobic and aerobic chloroethene biotransformation

Todd R. Miller ¹ , Mark P. Franklin ¹ & Rolf U. Halden ^1,2

¹ Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Center for Water and Health, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA; and ² Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering, Whiting School of Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA

Correspondence: Rolf U. Halden, 615 N. Wolfe Street, Rm E6618, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA. Tel.: +410 955 2609; fax: +410 955 9334; e-mail: rhalden@jhsph.edu

Editor: Riks Laanbroek

KEYWORDS

trichloroethylene • dichloroethene • tetraalkoxysilane • diesel

ABSTRACT

At Department of Energy Site 300, beneficial hydrocarbon cocontaminants and favorable subsurface conditions facilitate sequential reductive dechlorination of trichloroethene (TCE) and rapid oxidation of the resultant cis-dichloroethene (cis-DCE) upon periodic oxygen influx. We assessed the geochemistry and microbial community of groundwater from across the site. Removal of cis-DCE was shown to coincide with oxygen influx in hydrocarbon-containing groundwater near the source area. Principal component analysis of contaminants and inorganic compounds showed that monitoring wells could be differentiated based upon concentrations of TCE, cis-DCE, and nitrate. Structurally similar communities were detected in groundwater from wells containing cis-DCE, high TCE, and low nitrate levels. Bacteria identified by sequencing 16S rRNA genes belonged to seven phylogenetic groups, including Alpha-, Beta-, Gamma- and Deltaproteobacteria, Nitrospira, Firmicutes and Cytophaga–Flexibacter–Bacteroidetes (CFB). Whereas members of the Burkholderiales and CFB group were abundant in all wells (10⁴–10⁹ 16S rRNA gene copies L⁻¹), quantitative PCR showed that Alphaproteobacteria were elevated (>10⁶ L⁻¹) only in wells containing hydrocarbon cocontaminants. The study shows that bacterial community structure is related to groundwater geochemistry and that Alphaproteobacteria are enriched in locales where cis-DCE removal occurs.