EMCB-ENVIS Node ENVIRONMENTAL BIOTECHNOLOGY

EMCB-ENVIS Centre
phenanthrene) and uninduced Phase II mushroom composts were equally able to promote
degradation of this soil-associated contaminant. After 111 days incubation time, 42.7±6.3% loss
of soil-associated phenanthrene was observed in the induced-compost soil mixture, while
36.7±2.9% loss of soil-associated phenanthrene was observed in the uninduced-compost soil
mixture. These results are notable as they indicate that while pre-induction of phenanthrenecatabolism
within compost is possible, it does not significantly increase the extent of degradation
when the compost is used to ameliorate phenanthrene-contaminated soil. Thus, compost could be
used directly in the amelioration of contaminated land i.e. without pre-induction of catabolism.
C. D. Johnston, A. Desvignes. (CSIRO Land and Water, Private Bag 5, PO Wembley, W.A.,
6913, Australia. Hydrogeology Centre of the University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel,
Switzerland). Evidence for biodegradation and volatilisation of dissolved petroleum
hydrocarbons during in situ air sparging in large laboratory columns. Water, Air and
Soil Pollution: Focus, 3(3) (2003), 25-33.
Laboratory column experiments run for up to 13 days compared air sparging of groundwater
contaminated by dissolved petroleum hydrocarbons in sterile and non-sterile aquifer sediments
as well as uncontaminated sediments and groundwater. Loss of dissolved BTEX compounds in
the contaminated columns was very rapid, occurring through volatilisation. The majority of the
dissolved total organic carbon (TOC) persisted for much longer periods however. A direct
comparison between losses from sterile and non-sterile columns suggested a negligible
contribution of biodegradation to the removal of TOC. This was difficult to confirm through
examination of O2 utilisation because oxidation of a small amount of reduced sulphur in the
aquifer materials was the dominant sink for O2. Despite this, it was possible to conclude that less
than 22% of the removal of TOC was through biodegradation during the first three days of air
sparging.
D. Y. Kim, Y. H. Rhee. (Department of Microbiology, Chungnam National University, 305-
764, Daejeon, Korea). Biodegradation of microbial and synthetic polyesters by fungi.
Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, 61(4) (2003), 300 – 308.
A variety of biodegradable polyesters have been developed in order to obtain useful biomaterials
and to reduce the impact of environmental pollution caused by the large-scale accumulation of
non-degradable waste plastics. Polyhydroxyalkanoates, poly(k-caprolactone), poly(l-lactide), and
both aliphatic and aromatic polyalkylene dicarboxylic acids are examples of biodegradable
polyesters. In general, most aliphatic polyesters are readily mineralized by a number of aerobic
and anaerobic microorganisms that are widely distributed in nature. However, aromatic
polyesters are more resistant to microbial attack than aliphatic polyesters. The fungal biomass in
soils generally exceeds the bacterial biomass and thus it is likely that fungi may play a
considerable role in degrading polyesters, just as they predominantly perform the decomposition
of organic matter in the soil ecosystem. However, in contrast to bacterial polyester degradation,
which has been extensively investigated, the microbiological and environmental aspects of
fungal degradation of polyesters are unclear. This review reports recent advances in our
knowledge of the fungal degradation of microbial and synthetic polyesters and discusses the
ecological importance and contribution of fungi in the biological recycling of waste polymeric
materials in the biosphere.
David Schleheck, Melanie Lechner, René Schönenberger, Marc J.-F. Suter, Alasdair M. Cook.
(Department of Biology, The University of Konstanz, D-78457 Konstanz, Germany, Swiss
Federal Institute for Environmental Science and Technology, CH-8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland).
Desulfonation and Degradation of the Disulfodiphenylethercarboxylates
from Linear Alkyldiphenyletherdisulfonate Surfactants.Applied and Environmental
Microbiology, February, 69(2) (2003), 938-944.
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