Bioremediation Methods and Protocols

Since its first systematic application during the 1970s, bioremediation, or the exploitation of a biological system’s degradative potential to combat toxic pollutants such as heavy metals, polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), cyanides, and radioactive material, has proven itself over time, and the many advances in molecular techniques have only amplified its utility. In Bioremediation: Methods and Protocols, experts in the field explore imaginative and ambitious multidisciplinary techniques that will enable more predictable removal of pollutants from a variety of environments. The easy-to-follow volume addresses some of the broader issues such as the effect of the environment in determining the availability and fate of organic and inorganic compounds and how choices around the most appropriate bioremediation process can be arrived at, as well as detailed complementary techniques that support the effective deployment and monitoring of a bioremediation approach. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology™ series format, chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible protocols, and notes on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls.

Authoritative and cutting-edge, Bioremediation: Methods and Protocols offers researchers a series of invaluable techniques certain to enhance their work with environmental contamination.

1. Measurement of Bioaccessibility of Organic Pollutants in Soil Laura McAllister and Kirk T. Semple 2. Heavy Metal Bioavailability and Bioaccessibility in Soil John Richard Dean 3. Addressing PCR Biases in Environmental Microbiology Studies Rita Sipos, Anna Székely, Sára Révész, and Károly Márialigeti 4. MPN- and Real Time -Based PCR Methods for the Quantification of Alkane-Monooxygenase Homologous Genes (alkB) in Environmental Samples Alfredo Perez de Mora, Stephan Schulz, and Michael Schloter 5. Application of Fingerprinting Molecular Methods in Bioremediation Studies Dimitrios G. Karpouzas and Brajesh K. Singh 6. Using Terminal Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (T-RFLP) Analysis to Assess Microbial Community Structure in Compost Systems Sonia M. Tiquia 7. Combination of Fluorescence in situ Hybridization with Staining Techniques for Cell Viability and Accumulation of PHA and polyP in Microorganisms in Complex Microbial Systems Jeppe Lund Nielsen, Caroline Kragelund, and Per Halkjær Nielsen 8. Combination of Fluorescence in situ Hybridization with Different Extracellular Staining Techniques for Ecophysiological Analysis of Microorganisms in Complex Microbial Systems Jeppe Lund Nielsen, Caroline Kragelund, and Per Halkjær Nielsen 9. Applications of DNA-Stable Isotope Probing in Bioremediation Studies Yin Chen, Jyotsna Vohra, and J. Colin Murrell 10. Two-Dimensional Gel Electrophoresis: Discovering Bio-Molecules for Environmental Bioremediation Om V. Singh and Anuj K. Chandel 11. The Application of Molecular Techniques to the Study of Wastewater Treatment Systems Irena Wojnowska-Baryla, Agnieszka Cydzik-Kwiatkowska, and Magdalena Zielinska 12. Plasmid-Mediated Bioaugmentation of Wastewater MicrobialCommunities in a Laboratory Scale Bioreactor Stephan Bathe and Martina Hausner 13. The Role of Decision Support for Bioremediation Strategies, Exemplified by Hydrocarbons for in site and ex situ Procedures Elizabeth E. Diplock, Dave P. Mardlin, Kenneth S. Killham, and Graeme I. Paton 14. Monitored Natural Attenuation Kirsten S. Jørgensen, Jani M. Salminen, and Katarina Björklöf 15. Application of Bioassays for the Ecotoxicity Assessment of Contaminated Soils María D. Fernández, Mar Babin, and José V. Tarazona 16. Community Level Physiological Profiling Kela P. Weber and Raymond L. Legge