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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, December 2001, p. 5824-5829, Vol. 67, No. 12
0099-2240/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/AEM.67.12.5824-5829.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Aerobic Biodegradation of Methyl tert-Butyl Ether by Aquifer Bacteria from Leaking Underground Storage Tank Sites

S. R. Kane,1,* H. R. Beller,1 T. C. Legler,1 C. J. Koester,1 H. C. Pinkart,2 R. U. Halden,1,dagger and A. M. Happel1

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94550,1 and Central Washington University, Ellensburg, Washington 989262

Received 19 March 2001/Accepted 24 September 2001

The potential for aerobic methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) degradation was investigated with microcosms containing aquifer sediment and groundwater from four MTBE-contaminated sites characterized by oxygen-limited in situ conditions. MTBE depletion was observed for sediments from two sites (e.g., 4.5 mg/liter degraded in 15 days after a 4-day lag period), whereas no consumption of MTBE was observed for sediments from the other sites after 75 days. For sediments in which MTBE was consumed, 43 to 54% of added [U-14C]MTBE was mineralized to 14CO2. Molecular phylogenetic analyses of these sediments indicated the enrichment of species closely related to a known MTBE-degrading bacterium, strain PM1. At only one site, the presence of water-soluble gasoline components significantly inhibited MTBE degradation and led to a more pronounced accumulation of the metabolite tert-butyl alcohol. Overall, these results suggest that the effects of oxygen and water-soluble gasoline components on in situ MTBE degradation will vary from site to site and that phylogenetic analysis may be a promising predictor of MTBE biodegradation potential.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, L-542, 7000 East Ave., Livermore, CA 94550. Phone: (925) 422-7897. Fax: (925) 423-7998. E-mail: kane11{at}llnl.gov.

dagger Present address: School of Hygiene and Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, December 2001, p. 5824-5829, Vol. 67, No. 12
0099-2240/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/AEM.67.12.5824-5829.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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