Survival and activity of individual bioaugmentation strains.

Successful application of bioaugmentation for enhanced degradation of environmental pollutants is often limited by the lack of methods to monitor the survival and activity of individual bioaugmentation strains. However, recent advancements in sequencing technologies and molecular techniques now allow us to address these limitations. Here a complementing set of general applicable molecular methods are presented that provides detailed information on the performance of individual bioaugmentation strains under in situ conditions.

Complete Genome of Rhodococcus pyridinivorans SB3094, a Methyl-Ethyl-Ketone-Degrading Bacterium Used for Bioaugmentation.

Here, we present the complete genome of Rhodococcus pyridinivorans SB3094, a methyl-ethyl-ketone (MEK)-degrading strain used for bioaugmentation relating to the treatment of wastewater contamination with petrochemical hydrocarbons. The genome highlights important features for bioaugmentation, including the genes involved in the degradation of MEK.

Complete Genome Sequences of Pseudomonas monteilii SB3078 and SB3101, Two Benzene-, Toluene-, and Ethylbenzene-Degrading Bacteria Used for Bioaugmentation.

Pseudomonas monteilii SB3078 and SB3101 are benzene-, toluene-, and ethylbenzene-degrading strains used for bioaugmentation in relation to treatment of wastewater contaminated with petrochemical hydrocarbons. Complete genome sequencing of the bioaugmentation strains confirms that they are very closely related (100.0% average nucleotide identity).

Comparative genomic analysis of phylogenetically closely related Hydrogenobaculum sp. isolates from Yellowstone National Park.

We describe the complete genome sequences of four closely related Hydrogenobaculum sp. isolates (≥ 99.7% 16S rRNA gene identity) that were isolated from the outflow channel of Dragon Spring (DS), Norris Geyser Basin, in Yellowstone National Park (YNP), WY.

Application of molecular techniques to elucidate the influence of cellulosic waste on the bacterial community structure at a simulated low-level-radioactive-waste site.

Low-level-radioactive-waste (low-level-waste) sites, including those at various U.S. Department of Energy sites, frequently contain cellulosic waste in the form of paper towels, cardboard boxes, or wood contaminated with heavy metals and radionuclides such as chromium and uranium.

Cloning and in situ expression studies of the Hydrogenobaculum arsenite oxidase genes.

Novel arsenite [As(III)] oxidase structural genes (aoxAB) were cloned from Hydrogenobaculum bacteria isolated from an acidic geothermal spring. Reverse transcriptase PCR demonstrated expression throughout the outflow channel, and the aoxB cDNA clones exhibited distribution patterns relative to the physicochemical gradients in the spring. Microelectrode analyses provided evidence of quantitative As(III) transformation within the microbial mat.

Relative importance of H2 and H2S as energy sources for primary production in geothermal springs.

Geothermal waters contain numerous potential electron donors capable of supporting chemolithotrophy-based primary production. Thermodynamic predictions of energy yields for specific electron donor and acceptor pairs in such systems are available, although direct assessments of these predictions are rare. This study assessed the relative importance of dissolved H(2) and H(2)S as energy sources for the support of chemolithotrophic metabolism in an acidic geothermal spring in Yellowstone National Park.

Autecology of an arsenite chemolithotroph: sulfide constraints on function and distribution in a geothermal spring.

Previous studies in an acid-sulfate-chloride spring in Yellowstone National Park found that microbial arsenite [As(III)] oxidation is absent in regions of the spring outflow channel where H(2)S exceeds approximately 5 microM and served as a backdrop for continued efforts in the present study. Ex situ assays with microbial mat samples demonstrated immediate As(III) oxidation activity when H(2)S was absent or at low concentrations, suggesting the presence of As(III) oxidase enzymes that could be reactivated if H(2)S is removed. Cultivation experiments initiated with mat samples taken from along the H(2)S gradient in the outflow channel resulted in the isolation of an As(III)-oxidizing chemolithotroph from the low-H(2)S region of the gradient.

Poly(A) polymerase modification and reverse transcriptase PCR amplification of environmental RNA.

We describe a combination of two established techniques for a novel application for constructing full-length cDNA clone libraries from environmental RNA. The cDNA was cloned without the use of prescribed primers that target specific genes, and the procedure did not involve random priming. Purified RNA was first modified by addition of a poly(A) tail and then was amplified by using a commercially available reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR) cDNA synthesis kit.

Arsenite-oxidizing Hydrogenobaculum strain isolated from an acid-sulfate-chloride geothermal spring in Yellowstone National Park.

An arsenite-oxidizing Hydrogenobaculum strain was isolated from a geothermal spring in Yellowstone National Park, Wyo., that was previously shown to contain microbial populations engaged in arsenite oxidation. The isolate was sensitive to both arsenite and arsenate and behaved as an obligate chemolithoautotroph that used H(2) as its sole energy source and had an optimum temperature of 55 to 60 degrees C and an optimum pH of 3.