Aerobic biodegradation of tert-butyl alcohol (TBA) by psychro- and thermo-tolerant cultures derived from granular activated carbon (GAC)

Use of modified ichip for the cultivation of thermo-tolerant microorganisms from the hot spring

BACKGROUND

Thermostable microorganisms are extremophiles. They have a special genetic background and metabolic pathway and can produce a variety of enzymes and other active substances with special functions. Most thermo-tolerant microorganisms from environmental samples have resisted cultivation on artificial growth media. Therefore, it is of great significance to isolate more thermo-tolerant microorganisms and study their characteristics to explore the origin of life and exploit more thermo-tolerant enzymes. Tengchong hot spring in Yunnan contains a lot of thermo-tolerant microbial resources because of its perennial high temperature. The ichip method was developed by D. Nichols in 2010 and can be used to isolate so-called "uncultivable" microorganisms from different environments. Here, we describe the first application of modified ichip to isolate thermo-tolerant bacteria from hot springs.

RESULTS

In this study, 133 strains of bacteria belonging to 19 genera were obtained. 107 strains of bacteria in 17 genera were isolated by modified ichip, and 26 strains of bacteria in 6 genera were isolated by direct plating methods. 25 strains are previously uncultured, 20 of which can only be cultivated after being domesticated by ichip. Two strains of previously unculturable Lysobacter sp., which can withstand 85 °C, were isolated for the first time. Alkalihalobacillus, Lysobacter and Agromyces genera were first found to have 85 °C tolerance.

CONCLUSION

Our results indicate that the modified ichip approach can be successfully applied in a hot spring environment.

Biodegradation of alkylates under less agitated aquifer conditions

The biodegradability of three alkylates (2,3-dimethylpentane, 2,4-dimethylpentane and 2,2,4-trimethylpentane) under less agitated aquifer conditions was investigated in this study. All three alkylates biodegraded completely under these conditions regardless of the presence or absence of ethanol or benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes (BTEX) in the feed. In the presence of ethanol, alkylates degradation was not inhibited by ethanol. However, alkylates degraded more slowly in the presence of BTEX suggesting competitive inhibition to microbial utilization of alkylates. In the sterile controls, alkylates concentrations remained unchanged throughout the experiments.