Microbial communities associated with anaerobic benzene degradation in a petroleum-contaminated aquifer.

ABSTRACT: Microbial community composition associated with benzene oxidation under in situ Fe(III)-reducing conditions in a petroleum-contaminated aquifer located in Bemidji, Minn., was investigated. Community structure associated with benzene degradation was compared to sediment communities that did not anaerobically oxidize benzene which were obtained from two adjacent Fe(III)-reducing sites and from methanogenic and uncontaminated zones. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis of 16S rDNA sequences amplified with bacterial or Geobacteraceae-specific primers indicated significant differences in the composition of the microbial communities at the different sites. Most notable was a selective enrichment of microorganisms in the Geobacter cluster seen in the benzene-degrading sediments. This finding w

SUBMITTER: Rooney-Varga JN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC91456 | biostudies-literature | 1999 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature