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Enhanced Biodegradation of Methyl tert-butyl-ether by a Microbial Consortium

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Abstract

The widespread use of Methyl tert-butyl-ether (MTBE) as a gasoline additive has resulted in a higher detection rate of MTBE in groundwater systems. Therefore, the researchers show more concern about the bioremediation of MTBE-impacted aquifers. In this paper, a MTBE-direct-degrading bacterial consortium was enriched (named RS1) and further studied. In order to identify the microbial community of the consortium, 17 and 12 different single strains were isolated from nutrient medium and MSM media (with MTBE as the sole carbon source), respectively. 16S rDNA-based phylogenetic analysis revealed that these diverse bacteria belonged to 14 genera, in which Pseudomonas was dominant. Several strains which can grow with MTBE as the sole carbon and energy source were also identified, such as M1, related to MTBE-degrading Arthrobacter sp. ATCC27778. Furthermore, the appropriate addition of certain single strain in consortium RS1 (M1:RS1 = 1:2) facilitates MTBE degradation by increasing the quantity of efficient MTBE-degrading bacteria. This work will provide microbial source and theoretical fundament for further bioremediation of MTBE-contaminated aquifers, which has applied potential and environmental importance.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Professor Ying Weiqi (South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China) for providing the mixed culture RS. This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant NO. 31300438), Shaanxi Province Postdoctoral Science Foundation funded project and China Postdoctoral Science Foundation funded project (NO. 2012M521778).

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  1. Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, 710049, Shaanxi, China

    Shan-shan Li, Di Zhang & Wei Yan

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  1. Shan-shan Li
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  2. Di Zhang
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Correspondence to Wei Yan.

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Li, Ss., Zhang, D. & Yan, W. Enhanced Biodegradation of Methyl tert-butyl-ether by a Microbial Consortium. Curr Microbiol 68, 317–323 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-013-0480-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-013-0480-9

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