title: Microbial isotopic fractionation of perchlorate chlorine.
abstract: Perchlorate contamination can be microbially respired to innocuous chloride and thus can be treated effectively. However, monitoring a bioremediative strategy is often difficult due to the complexities of environmental samples. Here we demonstrate that microbial respiration of perchlorate results in a significant fractionation ( approximately -15 per thousand ) of the chlorine stable isotope composition of perchlorate. This can be used to quantify the extent of biotic degradation and to separate biotic from abiotic attenuation of this contaminant.
authors.affiliation: Postgraduate Research Institute for Sedimentology, The University of Reading, Reading, United Kingdom. m.l.coleman@reading.ac.uk
authors.forename: Max L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Coleman
authors.forename: Magali
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ader
authors.forename: Swades
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chaudhuri
authors.forename: John D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Coates
mesh_terms: D020562:Betaproteobacteria / Q000378:metabolism*; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D002713:Chlorine / Q000378:metabolism*; D007554:Isotopes; D010472:Perchlorates / Q000378:metabolism*; D017670:Sodium Compounds / Q000378:metabolism*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D007554:Isotopes; D010472:Perchlorates; D017670:Sodium Compounds; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D002713:Chlorine; C031068:sodium perchlorate