Evaluation of the Galega-Rhizobium galegae system for the bioremediation of oil-contaminated soil.
The bioremediation potential of a nitrogen-fixing leguminous plant, Galega orientalis, and its microsymbiont Rhizobium galegae was evaluated in BTX (benzene, toluene, xylene)-contaminated soils in microcosm and mesocosm scale. To measure the intrinsic tolerance of the organisms to m-toluate, a model compound representing BTX, G. orientalis and R. galegae were cultivated under increasing concentrations of m-toluate alone and in association with Pseudomonas putida pWWO, a bacterial strain able to degrade toluene-derived compounds. The test plants and rhizobia remained viable in m-toluate concentrations as high as 3000 ppm. Plant growth was inhibited in concentrations higher than 500 ppm, but restituted when plants were transferred into m-toluate-free medium. Nodulation was blocked under the influence of m-toluate, but was restored after the plants were transferred into the non-contaminated media. In the mesocosm assay the Galega plants showed good growth, nodulation and nitrogen fixation, and developed a strong rhizosphere in soils contaminated with oil or spiked with 2000 ppm m-toluate. Thus, this legume system has good potential for use on oil-contaminated sites
Suominen
L
L
Department of Applied Chemistry and Microbiology, PO Box 56, Viikki Biocenter, 00014 University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland. leena.suominen@helsinki.fi
Jussila
M M
MM
Mäkeläinen
K
K
Romantschuk
M
M
Lindström
K
K