Enrichment of mixed cultures capable of aerobic degradation of 1,2- dibromoethane

L. M. Freitas Dos Santos, D. J. Leak, A. G. Livingston

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

12 Citations (SciVal)

Abstract

1,2-Dibromoethane (DBE) is a common environmental contaminant; it is potentially carcinogenic and has been detected in soil and groundwater supplies. Most of the biodegradation studies to date have been performed under anaerobic conditions or in the context of soil remediation, where the pollutant concentration wax in the parts per billion range. In this work a mixed bacterial culture capable of complete aerobic mineralization of concentrations of DBE up to 1 g liter-1 under well-controlled laboratory conditions was enriched. In order to verify biodegradation, formation of biodegradation products as well as the disappearance of DBE from the biological medium were measured. Complete mineralization was verified by measuring stoichiometric release of the biodegradation products. This mixed culture was found to be capable of degrading other halogenated compounds, including bromoethanol, the degradation of which has not been reported previously.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)4675-4677
Number of pages3
JournalApplied and Environmental Microbiology
Volume62
Issue number12
Publication statusPublished - 1 Dec 1996

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Environmental Science
  • Biotechnology
  • Microbiology

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