Paul Tratnyek Microbial Diversity 1991

Enrichments with a Core Sample

from a Surractant Contaminated Aquifer

A section of core was obtained from the sewage contaminated aquiferoriginating from the Otis Air Force Base, Cape Cod, MA. An importantcomponent of the contamination of this site is detergent so the corematerial was used as an inoculum for a variety of enrichments involvingsurfactants,

Liquid enrichments for microorganisms that degrade and/or aretolerant to various surfactants were made under aerobic conditions. Somegrowth was observed in 50 mM sodium dodecylbenzenesulionate (with andwithout glucose) but these cultures developed too slowly for furtherenrichment or isolation. Abundant growth was observed in 50 mM Triton X—100 (with and without glucose) and three enrichments were eventuallyobtained. The first was an apparently pure yeast culture that, in the end,appeared to be a contaminant. The other two isolates were rod—shapedbacteria, distinguishable from one another by colony morphology and patternof cell division.

The surfactants contaminating the aquifer at Otis AFB are mostlyalkyl benzene sulfonates so several anaerobic enrichments were prepared toselect for organisms that can use sulfonate functional groups to acceptelectrons during metabolism of lactate. The cultures containing taurineand isoethionite showed growth with production of 5ulfide, but thosecontaining cysteate and sodium dodecylbenzenesu]phonate (SDS) gave nogrowth.

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