Computer-assisted PCR-single-strand-conformation polymorphism analysis for assessing shift in soil bacterial community structure during bioremediational treatments

The extent of shift in soil bacterial community structure during bioremediational treatments was investigated by PCR-single-strand-conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analysis, which was followed by computer-assisted cluster analysis of the community fingerprints. While biostimulation as well as bioaugmentation enhanced the degradation of phenanthrene in soil, both bioremediational treatments caused shifts in the bacterial community structure. Drastic changes were observed in the initial phase of bioaugmentation. Our results demonstrate that computer-assisted fingerprint analysis is readily applicable to the study for the comparative analysis of microbial community structure using molecular profiling techniques.