Standard inocula preparations reduce the bacterial diversity and reliability of regulatory biodegradation tests.

ABSTRACT: OECD ready biodegradability tests have been central to understanding the biodegradation of chemicals from a regulatory perspective for many decades. They are not fit for contemporary prioritisation of chemicals based on persistence, however, due to the low concentration of inocula used, short duration and high variability between tests. Two OECD standard inoculum pretreatment methods (settlement and filtration) were investigated to observe their effect on the probability of biodegradation and associated changes in bacterial community structure and diversity of inocula sourced from the activated sludge process of wastewater treatment plants. Both settlement and filtration were shown to dramatically and significantly reduce the probability and increase the variability of biodegradation of 4-

SUBMITTER: Goodhead AK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4133024 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature