Skip to main content
OSTI.GOVU.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information
 

A Slow-Release Substrate Stimulates Groundwater Microbial Communities for Long-Term in Situ Cr(VI) Reduction

Journal Article · · Environmental Science and Technology
 [1];  [1];  [1];  [2];  [3];  [1];  [4];  [5];  [6];  [7]
  1. Univ. of Oklahoma, Norman, OK (United States). Inst. for Environmental Genomics, and Dept. of Microbiology and Plant Biology
  2. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Earth Science Division
  3. Univ. of Oklahoma, Norman, OK (United States). Inst. for Environmental Genomics, and Dept. of Microbiology and Plant Biology; Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing (China). CAS Key Lab. of Environmental Biotechnology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences
  4. Montana State Univ., Bozeman, MT (United States). Center for Biofilm Engineering
  5. Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States). Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering; Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Biosciences Division
  6. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Physical Biosciences Division
  7. Univ. of Oklahoma, Norman, OK (United States). Inst. for Environmental Genomics, and Dept. of Microbiology and Plant Biology; Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Earth Science Division
+ Show Author Affiliations
Cr(VI) is a widespread environmental contaminant that is highly toxic and soluble. Previous work indicated that a one-time amendment of polylactate hydrogen-release compound (HRC) reduced groundwater Cr(VI) concentrations for >3.5 years at a contaminated aquifer; however, microbial communities responsible for Cr(VI) reduction are poorly understood. Here in this study, we hypothesized that HRC amendment would significantly change the composition and structure of groundwater microbial communities, and that the abundance of key functional genes involved in HRC degradation and electron acceptor reduction would increase long-term in response to this slowly degrading, complex substrate. To test these hypotheses, groundwater microbial communities were monitored after HRC amendment for >1 year using a comprehensive functional gene microarray. The results showed that the overall functional composition and structure of groundwater microbial communities underwent sequential shifts after HRC amendment. Particularly, the abundance of functional genes involved in acetate oxidation, denitrification, dissimilatory nitrate reduction, metal reduction, and sulfate reduction significantly increased. The overall community dynamics was significantly correlated with changes in groundwater concentrations of microbial biomass, acetate, NO3-, Cr(VI), Fe(II) and SO42-. Finally, our results suggest that HRC amendment primarily stimulated key functional processes associated with HRC degradation and reduction of multiple electron acceptors in the aquifer toward long-term Cr(VI) reduction.
Research Organization:
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES) (SC-22); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER) (SC-23)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-05CH11231; FG02-07ER64398
OSTI ID:
1379163
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1470905
Journal Information:
Environmental Science and Technology, Journal Name: Environmental Science and Technology Journal Issue: 21 Vol. 49; ISSN 0013-936X
Publisher:
American Chemical Society (ACS)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

References (55)

Environmental proteomics reveals early microbial community responses to biostimulation at a uranium- and nitrate-contaminated site journal August 2013
Lithoautotrophic growth of sulfate-reducing bacteria, and description of Desulfobacterium autotrophicum gen. nov., sp. nov. journal October 1987
Syntrophus aciditrophicus sp. nov., a new anaerobic bacterium that degrades fatty acids and benzoate in syntrophic association with hydrogen-using microorganisms journal January 1999
Hydrogenases in sulfate-reducing bacteria function as chromium reductase journal July 2003
Isolation and characterization of Cr(VI) reducing Cellulomonas spp. from subsurface soils: Implications for long-term chromate reduction journal February 2007
Microbial community response to addition of polylactate compounds to stimulate hexavalent chromium reduction in groundwater journal October 2011
Chromate removal from aqueous wastes by reduction with ferrous ion journal August 1988
Peer Reviewed: In-Situ Treatment of Chromium-Contaminated Groundwater journal December 2002
In Situ Bioreduction of Technetium and Uranium in a Nitrate-Contaminated Aquifer journal January 2004
Physiological and Transcriptional Studies of Cr(VI) Reduction under Aerobic and Denitrifying Conditions by an Aquifer-Derived Pseudomonad journal October 2010
In Situ Bioremediation of Uranium with Emulsified Vegetable Oil as the Electron Donor journal May 2013
Clostridia Initiate Heavy Metal Bioremoval in Mixed Sulfidogenic Cultures journal March 2014
In Situ Long-Term Reductive Bioimmobilization of Cr(VI) in Groundwater Using Hydrogen Release Compound journal November 2008
Subsurface clade of Geobacteraceae that predominates in a diversity of Fe(III)-reducing subsurface environments journal October 2007
Bacterial community succession during in situ uranium bioremediation: spatial similarities along controlled flow paths journal September 2008
Biostimulation induces syntrophic interactions that impact C, S and N cycling in a sediment microbial community journal November 2012
Spatial scaling of functional gene diversity across various microbial taxa journal May 2008
Evaluation of Slow Release Substrates for Anaerobic Bioremediation journal July 2006
PicoGreen quantitation of DNA: effective evaluation of samples pre- or post-PCR journal July 1996
Syntrophobacter fumaroxidans sp. nov., a syntrophic propionate-degrading sulfate-reducing bacterium journal October 1998
Comparison of 16S rRNA, nifD, recA, gyrB, rpoB and fusA genes within the family Geobacteraceae fam. nov. journal September 2004
Metagenomic analysis reveals a marked divergence in the structure of belowground microbial communities at elevated CO2: Changes in the soil microbial community at elevated CO2 journal April 2010
Description of Caldicellulosiruptor saccharolyticus gen. nov., sp. nov: An obligately anaerobic, extremely thermophilic, cellulolytic bacterium journal July 1994
Sulfate-reducing bacterium grows with Cr(VI), U(VI), Mn(IV), and Fe(III) as electron acceptors journal May 1998
A Limited Microbial Consortium Is Responsible for Extended Bioreduction of Uranium in a Contaminated Aquifer journal July 2011
Molecular Analysis of the Metabolic Rates of Discrete Subsurface Populations of Sulfate Reducers journal July 2011
Significant Association between Sulfate-Reducing Bacteria and Uranium-Reducing Microbial Communities as Revealed by a Combined Massively Parallel Sequencing-Indicator Species Approach journal August 2010
Microbial Communities in Contaminated Sediments, Associated with Bioremediation of Uranium to Submicromolar Levels journal May 2008
Genomic and Physiological Characterization of the Chromate-Reducing, Aquifer-Derived Firmicute Pelosinus sp. Strain HCF1 journal October 2012
Microarray-Based Analysis of Subnanogram Quantities of Microbial Community DNAs by Using Whole-Community Genome Amplification journal July 2006
Functional Diversity and Electron Donor Dependence of Microbial Populations Capable of U(VI) Reduction in Radionuclide-Contaminated Subsurface Sediments journal March 2008
Microbial Functional Gene Diversity with a Shift of Subsurface Redox Conditions during In Situ Uranium Reduction journal February 2012
Microbial Community Succession during Lactate Amendment and Electron Acceptor Limitation Reveals a Predominance of Metal-Reducing Pelosinus spp. journal January 2012
Dissimilatory Metal Reduction by the Facultative Anaerobe Pantoea agglomerans SP1 journal February 2000
Reduction of Fe(III), Cr(VI), U(VI), and Tc(VII) by Deinococcus radiodurans R1 journal May 2000
Chromate Reduction by a Pseudomonad Isolated from a Site Contaminated with Chromated Copper Arsenate journal March 2001
Diversity and Characterization of Sulfate-Reducing Bacteria in Groundwater at a Uranium Mill Tailings Site journal July 2001
Stimulating the In Situ Activity of Geobacter Species To Remove Uranium from the Groundwater of a Uranium-Contaminated Aquifer journal October 2003
Molecular Diversity of Sulfate-Reducing Bacteria from Two Different Continental Margin Habitats journal October 2003
Cr(VI) Reduction by Sulfidogenic and Nonsulfidogenic Microbial Consortia journal March 2003
Change in Bacterial Community Structure during In Situ Biostimulation of Subsurface Sediment Cocontaminated with Uranium and Nitrate journal August 2004
Diversity and Distribution of Sulfate-Reducing Bacteria in Permanently Frozen Lake Fryxell, McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica journal October 2005
Phylogeography of Sulfate-Reducing Bacteria among Disturbed Sediments, Disclosed by Analysis of the Dissimilatory Sulfite Reductase Genes (dsrAB) journal February 2005
Uranium(VI) Reduction by Anaeromyxobacter dehalogenans Strain 2CP-C journal May 2006
Draft Genome Sequence of Pelosinus fermentans JBW45, Isolated during In Situ Stimulation for Cr(VI) Reduction journal September 2012
Propionate-Degrading Bacterium, Syntrophobacter wolinii sp. nov. gen. nov., from Methanogenic Ecosystems journal January 1980
Distribution of Hydrogenase Genes in Desulfovibrio spp. and Their Use in Identification of Species from the Oil Field Environment journal January 1990
Reduction of uranium by Desulfovibrio desulfuricans. journal January 1992
Stimulation of Reductive Dechlorination of Tetrachloroethene in Anaerobic Aquifer Microcosms by Addition of Short-Chain Organic Acids or Alcohols journal April 1992
Reduction of uranium by cytochrome c3 of Desulfovibrio vulgaris. journal January 1993
Reduction of Chromate by Desulfovibrio vulgaris and Its c3 Cytochrome journal January 1994
Genetic diversity and expression of the [NiFe] hydrogenase large-subunit gene of Desulfovibrio spp. in environmental samples. journal January 1997
Uranium Reduction journal October 2006
Hexavalent Chromium Reduction under Fermentative Conditions with Lactate Stimulated Native Microbial Communities journal December 2013
A Review of Metal Concentrations Measured in Surface Soil Samples Collected on and Around the Hanford Site report July 2009

Cited By (3)

Cr(VI) reduction and physiological toxicity are impacted by resource ratio in Desulfovibrio vulgaris journal February 2018
Microbial Functional Gene Diversity Predicts Groundwater Contamination and Ecosystem Functioning journal February 2018
Bacterial Diversity in Submarine Groundwater along the Coasts of the Yellow Sea journal January 2016

Similar Records

A Slow-Release Substrate Stimulates Groundwater Microbial Communities for Long-Term in Situ Cr(VI) Reduction
Journal Article · Thu Apr 02 00:00:00 EDT 2015 · Environmental Science and Technology · OSTI ID:1470905
Dynamic Succession of Groundwater Functional Microbial Communities in Response to Emulsified Vegetable Oil Amendment during Sustained In Situ U(VI) Reduction
Journal Article · Thu Apr 09 20:00:00 EDT 2015 · Applied and Environmental Microbiology · OSTI ID:1394408

Related Subjects

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES