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DETECTION OF A MICROBIAL CONSORTIUM, INCLUDING TYPE 2 METHANOTROPHS, BY USE OF PHOSPHOLIPID FATTY ACIDES IN AN AEROBIC HALOGENATED HYDROCARBON-DEGRADING SOIL COLUMN ENRICHED WITH NATURAL GAS
Citation:
Nichols, P., J. Henson, C. Antworth, J. Parsons, AND J. Wilson. DETECTION OF A MICROBIAL CONSORTIUM, INCLUDING TYPE 2 METHANOTROPHS, BY USE OF PHOSPHOLIPID FATTY ACIDES IN AN AEROBIC HALOGENATED HYDROCARBON-DEGRADING SOIL COLUMN ENRICHED WITH NATURAL GAS. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/J-87/040.
Description:
The phospholipid ester-linked normal and lipopolysaccharide layer hydroxy fatty acids from microbes in a natural gas (85% methane)-stimulated soil column capable of degrading halogenated hydrocarbons were analyzed in detail by capillary column GC-MS. Microbial biomass, calculated from phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) concentrations to be 5.6 x 10 to the 9th power bacteria/g (dry weight), was greater in the hydrocarbon-degrading column than in either an azide-inhibited soil column or an untreated surface soil. Microbial community structure information, using GC-MS analysis of derivatized monounsaturated PLFA, indicated that the major component (16 to 18%) of the PLFA in the hydrocarbon-degrading column was the PLFA 28:1 delta 10c. The novel PLFA has been reported as a major component in type II methanotrophs. Based on these differences, the potential exists to use these methods to monitor shifts in microbial biomass and community structure in aquifers where indigenous bacteria are stimulated to biotransform pollutant compounds.