Why Dehalococcoides 16S Isn't Enough to Predict Bioremediation of PCE or TCE

摘要

Over the past few years, anaerobic bioremediation has become a relatively common choice for remediation of the toxic chlorinated ethenes tetrachloroethylene (PCE) and trichloroethylene (TCE). Assessments of whether or not to use this technology are often based on tests for the presence of the 16S rDNA gene of Dehalococcoides ethenogenes strain 195, the first bacteria shown to be capable of completely dechlor-inating PCE or TCE to harmless ethene. Recent research into the phylogeny and metabolism of the Dehalococcoides, however, suggests that the 16S rDNA is not the best indicator of degradation activity. This paper will summarize recent findings to make the argument that measuring specific reductive dehalogenase genes of known function is a more powerful way to assess remediation of chlorinated ethenes.