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Title: Quantitative relationship between naphthalene catabolic gene frequency and expression in predicting PAH degradation in soils at town gas manufacturing sites

Journal Article · · Environmental Science and Technology
;  [1];  [2]
  1. Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States)
  2. IT Corporation, Knoxville, TN (United States)

The inability to monitor in situ expression of biodegradative genes to predict rates of pollutant degradation or to evaluate the efficacy of engineering applications of bioremediation in complex environments such as contaminated soils has limited the routine acceptance of this technology in hazardous waste management. To overcome this limitation, an approach has been developed to measure catabolic gene expression in PAH-contaminated soils. In soils populated with as few as 10{sup 6} naphthalene degradative bacteria g{sup -1}, in situ isolation and quantitation of mRNA levels was achieved for the NAH7 naphthalene dioxygenase (nahA) gene. NahA transcript levels correlated positively with [{sup 14}C]naphthalene mineralization rates, soil naphthalene concentration, and nahA gene frequency. 30 refs., 4 figs., 2 tabs.

Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
OSTI ID:
41654
Journal Information:
Environmental Science and Technology, Vol. 27, Issue 6; Other Information: PBD: Jun 1993
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English