BE/GEN-EN: Who's Doing What in a Complex Bioreactor? Stable Isotope Probing of Specific Degraders in Engineered Biological Treatment Processes

University Of North Carolina At Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill NC

Investigators

Abstract

0221836 Aitken A stable isotope method will be used to prepare heavy DNA from incubations of mixed cultures and specific C-13 labelled PAH substrates in completely closed slurry aerobic bioreactors. The bioreactor is fitted with a gas chromatograph which allows on- line respirometric measurements. DNA and rRNA will be extracted from the slurry, amplified by PCR, and analyzed on agarose gels. Comparisons between the DGGE profiles obtainedfrom rDNA (PCR), rRNA (RT-PCR) and C-13 labelled rDNA and rRNA will provide insight into the metabolically active members of the community. Selected DGGE bands will be sequenced and submitted for phylogenetic analysis using PHYLIP software.