title: Pentachlorophenol degradation: a pure bacterial culture and an epilithic microbial consortium.
abstract: The steady-state growth of a Flavobacterium strain known to utilize pentachlorophenol (PCP) was examined when cellobiose and PCP simultaneously limited its growth rate in continuous culture. A concentration of 600 mg of PCP per liter in influent medium could be continuously degraded without affecting steady-state growth. We measured specific rates of PCP carbon degradation as high as 0.15 +/- 0.01 g (dry weight) of C per h at a growth rate of 0.045 h-1. Comparable specific rates of PCP degradation were obtained and maintained by PCP-adapted, natural consortia of epilithic microorganisms. The consortium results suggest that a fixed-film bioreactor containing a PCP-adapted natural microbial population could be used to treat PCP-contaminated water.
mesh_terms: D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D002475:Cellobiose / Q000378:metabolism; D002733:Chlorophenols / Q000378:metabolism*; D005417:Flavobacterium / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D005618:Fresh Water; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D010416:Pentachlorophenol / Q000378:metabolism*; D014871:Water Microbiology; D014873:Water Pollutants / Q000378:metabolism*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D002733:Chlorophenols; D014873:Water Pollutants; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D002475:Cellobiose; D010416:Pentachlorophenol