Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID 2009MS87B

Molecular Identification of Bacterial Communities Associated with Biodegradation of Pentachlorophenol in Groundwater

Institute: Mississippi
Year Established: 2009 Start Date: 2009-03-01 End Date: 2010-06-30
Total Federal Funds: $14,237 Total Non-Federal Funds: $28,474

Principal Investigators: M Prewitt, Hamid Borazjani, Susan Diehl

Project Summary: Because Pentachlorophenol (PCP) is a toxic and recalcitrant pesticide, PCP contaminated groundwater presents a major health concern for humans and the environment. Over ninety percent of the human population in the state of Mississippi rely on groundwater for domestic use. PCP contaminated groundwater is caused predominately from agricultural runoff and improper disposal at wood treating facilities. Previous studies have found what is believed to be a consortium of bacteria that degrade PCP in groundwater and in soil. However the identity of this consortium is not known. This study seeks to identify the consortium during biodegradation of PCP in groundwater using biosparging biotechnology. Water samples will be collected quarterly from eight wells and analyzed for concentration of PCP and its metabolites. Molecular identification tools such as cloning will be used to separate the consortium into single isolates and sequencing will be used to determine the identity of each bacterium in the consortium. With this information we can begin to understand the mechanism by which this consortium degrades PCP. This will lead to developing biological consortiums that can degrade PCP to below detectable limits