Journal
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH
Volume 23, Issue 9, Pages 9019-9035Publisher
SPRINGER HEIDELBERG
DOI: 10.1007/s11356-016-6128-0
Keywords
Biofilms; Biofouling; BTEX contamination; Catechol 2; 3-Dioxygenases; bssA; Groundwater; Semiconductor sequencing
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Pump and treat systems are widely used for hydrocarbon-contaminated groundwater remediation. Although biofouling (formation of clogging biofilms on pump surfaces) is a common problem in these systems, scarce information is available regarding the phylogenetic and functional complexity of such biofilms. Extensive information about the taxa and species as well as metabolic potential of a bacterial biofilm developed on the stainless steel surface of a pump submerged in a gasoline-contaminated hypoxic groundwater is presented. Results shed light on a complex network of interconnected hydrocarbon-degrading chemoorganotrophic and chemolitotrophic bacteria. It was found that besides the well-known hydrocarbon-degrading aerobic/facultative anaerobic biofilm-forming organisms (e.g., Azoarcus, Leptothrix, Acidovorax, Thauera, Pseudomonas, etc.), representatives of Fe2+-and Mn2+-oxidizing (Thiobacillus, Sideroxydans, Gallionella, Rhodopseudomonas, etc.) as well as of Fe3+- and Mn4+-respiring (Rhodoferax, Geobacter, Magnetospirillum, Sulfurimonas, etc.) bacteria were present in the biofilm. The predominance of beta-Proteobacteria within the biofilm bacterial community in phylogenetic and functional point of view was revealed. Investigation of meta-cleavage dioxygenase and benzylsuccinate synthase (bssA) genes indicated that within the biofilm, Azoarcus, Leptothrix, Zoogloea, and Thauera species are most probably involved in intrinsic biodegradation of aromatic hydrocarbons. Polyphasic analysis of the biofilm shed light on the fact that subsurface microbial accretions might be reservoirs of novel putatively hydrocarbon-degrading bacterial species. Moreover, clogging biofilms besides their detrimental effects might supplement the efficiency of pump and treat systems.
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