The Pseudomonas spp. from a commercial bioaugmentation product were characterized so that they might be monitored in a waste treatment system. The product CX 80 was chosen
because of its use in the biodégradation of aromatic
compounds. Four Pseudomonas spp. were selected - three P. putidaspp., IGA 7.16, IGA 7.24 and IGA 0.92, and one P . fluorescenssp., IGA 13.42. The organisms were
morphologically identical and were not readily
distinguishable using biochemical tests. They had similar
growth properties when grown on benzoate, naphthalene, phenol and m-toluate. IGA 7.16 alone was capable of growth on toluene and p-chlorophenol. A large plasmid band (85-120kb) was detected in IGA 7,16, IGA 7.24 and IGA 0.92. Southern hybridization to a 32P-labelled probe and dot blot
hybridization to a non-radioactively labelled probe confirmed the presence of a NAH plasmid in IGA 7.24 and a TOL plasmid in IGA 7.16.
P.putida IGA 7.24 was added to an activated sludge system in
order to note the effect of bioaugmentation and to monitor
the survival of the organism in the system. The response of
the activated sludge to naphthalene with and without the
addition of IGA 7.24 was similar. The systems adapted
rapidly to naphthalene. Colony hybridization using a nonradioactively labelled NAH probe was more sensitive than
vapour plates in the early detection of the emerging
naphthalene degrading population.
Item Type:
Thesis (PhD)
Date of Award:
1993
Refereed:
No
Supervisor(s):
Quilty, Bríd
Uncontrolled Keywords:
Pseudomonas; Waste treatment systems; CX 80; Biodegradation of aromatic compounds