Relationship between the adhesive properties of bacteria and their transport and colonization in the subsurface environment. Final technical report

摘要

The adhesion of bacteria to sediment particle or rock surfaces considerably effects their transport in subsurface environments. This research focuses on the macromolecular properties of bacteria that determine their adhesiveness and on the significance of adhesion in transport of subsurface bacteria. Specific objectives include (1) to obtain adhesion mutants of subsurface Pseudomonas species altered in surface adhesives; (2) to determine alterations in adhesives in selected mutants; (3) to evaluate the effect of adhesiveness on transport and long-term distribution and colonization of bacteria in porous media. Primary methods will be tranposon mutagenesis to generate adhesion mutants, biochemical analyses of cell surface polymers, and the use of laboratory columns containing subsurface materials to study the distribution and transport of bacteria along flow paths over time.