This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) An erratum has been published Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Reprints and Permissions Copyright Information Books from ASM Press MicrobeWorld Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Baptista, I. I. R. Articles by Livingston, A. G. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Baptista, I. I. R. Articles by Livingston, A. G. Agricola Articles by Baptista, I. I. R. Articles by Livingston, A. G.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, June 2006, p. 4411-4418, Vol. 72, No. 6
0099-2240/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.02576-05
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Stability and Performance of Xanthobacter autotrophicus GJ10 during 1,2-Dichloroethane Biodegradation

Ines I. R. Baptista,¹ Ludmila G. Peeva,¹ Ning-Yi Zhou,^2, David J. Leak,² Athanasios Mantalaris,¹ and Andrew G. Livingston^1*

Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemical Technology,¹ Department of Biological Sciences, Imperial College London, Prince Consort Road, SW7 2BY London, United Kingdom²

Received 1 November 2005/ Accepted 5 April 2006

A nucleic acid-based approach was used to investigate the dynamics of a microbial community dominated by Xanthobacter autotrophicus GJ10 in the degradation of synthetic wastewater containing 1,2-dichloroethane (DCE). This study was performed over a 140-day period in a nonsterile continuous stirred-tank bioreactor (CSTB) subjected to different operational regimens: nutrient-limiting conditions, baseline operation, and the introduction of glucose as a cosubstrate. The microbial community was analyzed by a combination of fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). Under nutrient-limiting conditions, DCE degradation was restricted, but this did not affect the dominance of strain GJ10, determined by FISH to comprise 85% of the active population. During baseline operation, DCE degradation improved significantly to over 99.5% and then remained constant throughout the subsequent experimental period. DGGE profiles revealed a stable, complex community, while FISH indicated that strain GJ10 remained the dominant species. During the addition of glucose as a cosubstrate, DGGE profiles showed a proliferation of other species in the CSTB. The percentage of strain GJ10 dropped to 8% of the active population in just 5 days, although this did not affect the DCE biodegradation performance. The return to baseline conditions was accompanied by the reestablishment of strain GJ10 as the dominant species, suggesting that this system responds robustly to external perturbations, both at the functional biodegradation level and at the individual strain level.

Present address: Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, China.

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Mena-Benitez, G. L., Gandia-Herrero, F., Graham, S., Larson, T. R., McQueen-Mason, S. J., French, C. E., Rylott, E. L., Bruce, N. C. (2008). Engineering a Catabolic Pathway in Plants for the Degradation of 1,2-Dichloroethane. Plant Physiol. 147: 1192-1198 [Abstract] [Full Text]