Microbial Monitoring

Task Description

This task involves the monitoring of microbial populations in soil and groundwater samples to eval-
uate the viability of in situ biore-
mediation. Microbial biomass is evaluated using measurements of colony-forming units, Most Prob-
able Number (MPN) techniques for methanotroph and methyltroph populations, Phospholipid Fatty Acid (PLFA) analysis, and fluores-
cent antibody probes (FA). Micro-
bial activity is assessed using ace-
tate incorporation techniques and by measurement of TCE degrada-

tion in enrichments. DNAPLs probes are used to enumerate specific groups of bacteria such as methanotrophs, toluene degraders, etc. Several new probes have been developed as part of this work.

Technology Needs