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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, February 2006, p. 1157-1163, Vol. 72, No. 2
0099-2240/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.72.2.1157-1163.2006
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Carbon Isotope Fractionation during Anaerobic Degradation of Methyl tert-Butyl Ether under Sulfate-Reducing and Methanogenic Conditions

Piyapawn Somsamak,1,2 Hans H. Richnow,3 and Max M. Häggblom1*

Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology and Biotechnology Center for Agriculture and the Environment, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, New Jersey 08901;,1 Department of Environmental Science, Faculty of Science, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand;,2 Department of Isotope Biogeochemistry, UFZ Centre for Environmental Research, Permoserstrasse 15, D-04318 Leipzig, Germany3

Received 24 June 2005/ Accepted 15 November 2005

Methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE), an octane enhancer and a fuel oxygenate in reformulated gasoline, has received increasing public attention after it was detected as a major contaminant of water resources. Although several techniques have been developed to remediate MTBE-contaminated sites, the fate of MTBE is mainly dependent upon natural degradation processes. Compound-specific stable isotope analysis has been proposed as a tool to distinguish the loss of MTBE due to biodegradation from other physical processes. Although MTBE is highly recalcitrant, anaerobic degradation has been demonstrated under different anoxic conditions and may be an important process. To accurately assess in situ MTBE degradation through carbon isotope analysis, carbon isotope fractionation during MTBE degradation by different cultures under different electron-accepting conditions needs to be investigated. In this study, carbon isotope fractionation during MTBE degradation under sulfate-reducing and methanogenic conditions was studied in anaerobic cultures enriched from two different sediments. Significant enrichment of 13C in residual MTBE during anaerobic biotransformation was observed under both sulfate-reducing and methanogenic conditions. The isotopic enrichment factors ({varepsilon}) estimated for each enrichment were almost identical (–13.4Formula to –14.6Formula ; r2 = 0.89 to 0.99). A {varepsilon} value of –14.4Formula ± 0.7Formula was obtained from regression analysis (r2 = 0.97, n = 55, 95% confidence interval), when all data from our MTBE-transforming anaerobic cultures were combined. The similar magnitude of carbon isotope fractionation in all enrichments regardless of culture or electron-accepting condition suggests that the terminal electron-accepting process may not significantly affect carbon isotope fractionation during anaerobic MTBE degradation.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ 08901. Phone: (732) 932-9763, ext. 326. Fax: (732) 932-8965. E-mail: haggblom{at}aesop.rutgers.edu.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, February 2006, p. 1157-1163, Vol. 72, No. 2
0099-2240/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.72.2.1157-1163.2006
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.





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