The Role of Soil Bacteria in Phytoremediation of Contaminated Soils
Department
Chemical and Biochemical Engineering
Major
Chemical Engineering with an emphasis in Biochemistry
Research Advisor
Westenberg, David J.
Advisor's Department
Biological Sciences
Funding Source
Dow Chemical Company
Abstract
Bioremediation/phytoremediation are among many methods used to clean up sites contaminated with toxic chemicals. These methods of biodegradation refer to the use of microorganisms/plants to breakdown compounds into smaller molecules that can be volatilized or used by other organisms. Contaminants such as benzene, toluene and catechol are of particular interest in this project. Gram Positive(GP) and Gram negative(GN) bacteria have been identified to excrete enzymes which aid in the degradation of catechol (CAT) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH).. More specifically, the biodegradation of benzene, toluene and catechol, among many other compounds, have been linked to the catechol dioxygenase-specific enzymes and PAH-degradation pathways. The enzymes for CAT and PAH degradation have been show to contain a specific DNA sequence which can be amplified by PCR. In this project we used PCR assays dioxygenase to amplify target sequences to quantify the presence of DNA sequences that code for CAT and PAH genes.
Biography
John Plihal is currently a senior in the chemical engineering department at Missouri Science and Technology. He has continued interest in biochemistry, cellular, tissue and enzymatic engineering. At Missouri S&T, John participates in on campus activities such as Student Union Board, intramural soccer along with continued work in ceramics, filtration, and biochemical engineering processes. John started his undergraduate research by participating in the OURE program and intends to further his education in fields related to biochemistry and biochemical engineering.
Research Category
Sciences
Presentation Type
Poster Presentation
Document Type
Poster
Location
Upper Atrium/Hall
Presentation Date
16 Apr 2014, 9:00 am - 11:45 am
The Role of Soil Bacteria in Phytoremediation of Contaminated Soils
Upper Atrium/Hall
Bioremediation/phytoremediation are among many methods used to clean up sites contaminated with toxic chemicals. These methods of biodegradation refer to the use of microorganisms/plants to breakdown compounds into smaller molecules that can be volatilized or used by other organisms. Contaminants such as benzene, toluene and catechol are of particular interest in this project. Gram Positive(GP) and Gram negative(GN) bacteria have been identified to excrete enzymes which aid in the degradation of catechol (CAT) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH).. More specifically, the biodegradation of benzene, toluene and catechol, among many other compounds, have been linked to the catechol dioxygenase-specific enzymes and PAH-degradation pathways. The enzymes for CAT and PAH degradation have been show to contain a specific DNA sequence which can be amplified by PCR. In this project we used PCR assays dioxygenase to amplify target sequences to quantify the presence of DNA sequences that code for CAT and PAH genes.
Comments
Joint project with Cera Thomason