Bioremediation of polychlorinated biphenyls degradation capabilities in field lysimeters

The degradation of 4-chlorobiphenyl (4CB) was compared in field lysimeters containing 60 Kg of soil contaminated with 5–10 mg/Kg of polychlorinated biphenyls.Alcaligenes A5, a bacterium carrying a plasmid for 4CB degradation, was inoculated into three lysimeters. When compared to an untreated control, soil samples from water, mineral, and yeast extract treated lysimeters with and without a bacterial inoculum exhibited greater than 10-fold increases in the rate of 1-¹⁴ C-acetate incorporation into lipids and¹⁴CO₂ production from U-¹⁴C-4-chlorobiphenyl. Gene probe analyses for the 4CB plasmid and most-probable-number enumerations demonstrated the presence of biodegradative populations in lysimeters and the probable survival of the addedAlcaligenes A5.