PLASMID INCIDENCE AND LINEAR ALKYLBENZENE SULFONATE BIODEGRADATION IN WASTE-WATER AND PRISTINE POND ECOSYSTEMS

Linear alkylbenzene sulfonate (LAS) is a widely used anionic surfactant. Although approximately 1 million metric tons of LAS are produced annually, relatively little is known about the bacteria or the genetic factors that control LAS degradation in the environment. The objectives of this research were to: i) compare bacterial populations in wastewater and pristine pond systems; ii) determine the frequency of plasmids in bacteria from these sites; and iii) compare the frequency of DNA sequences coding for aromatic catabolism in isolates from these two sites. Plate counts indicated that exposure to wastewater resulted in higher levels of both heterotrophic bacteria and bacteria capable of growing on LAS containing medium (LAS/YEPG). In addition to higher numbers, a higher proportion of heterotrophs from the wastewater system were capable of growth on LAS/YEPG medium. Thus, the high levels of LAS in the wastewater system apparently selected for organisms that were able to tolerate and/or degrade it. Mineralization of C-14-ring labelled LAS in any habitat related to the presence of organisms that grew on LAS/YEPG. Although many of these isolates could carry out primary degradation, no isolate could mineralize C-14-ring LAS in pure culture. A higher incidence of plasmids was found in bacteria from the wastewater pond and among bacteria that grew on LAS containing medium. However, the presence of plasmid DNA did not necessarily confer the ability to degrade LAS nor was the ability to degrade LAS dependent on the presence of a plasmid. The incidence of selected genotypes for aromatic catabolism was similar among isolates on LAS/YEPG at both sites, suggesting that LAS ring degradation may be present in other populations or encoded by alternative sequences. In conclusion, LAS mineralization is mediated by a consortium and the evidence that initial attack of LAS is plasmid mediated is inconclusive.