Exploring the Role of the Genus Dehalogenimonas in Reductive Dechlorination of Lesser Chlorinated Compounds: From Isolates to Field Scale

摘要

Background/Objectives. A growing body of evidence suggests that bacteria from the genus Dehalogenimonas play an important role in the anaerobic reductive dechlorination of polychlorinated propanes (e.g., 1,2,3-trichloropropane), polychlorinated ethanes (e.g., 1,2-dichloroethane), and other compounds. Approach/Activities. In this study, a dilution-to-extinction approach was employed to isolate novel Dehalogenimonas strains from contaminated groundwater at a Superfund site located near Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Isolated bacteria were characterized using a polyphasic approach that included testing their ability to reductively dechlorinate a variety of halogenated ethanes, propanes, methanes, and ethenes. A qPCR method designed to target the genus Dehalogenimonas was developed based on 16S rRNA gene sequences of the new isolates, previous isolates, and uncultured environmental sequences. The new qPCR technique was then applied to assess growth of isolates during dechlorination of different chlorinated solvents and to track abundance of the genus Dehalogenimonas as a function of time following biostimulation at the field scale.