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Microbial ecology of soil biofilms: Substrate bioavailability, bioremediation and complexity
Book chapter   Peer reviewed

Microbial ecology of soil biofilms: Substrate bioavailability, bioremediation and complexity

Richard G Burns and J E M Stach
Developments in Soil Science, Volume 28, Part 2, pp.17-42
Elsevier BV
2002
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0166-2481(02)80006-X
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https://doi.org/10.1016/S0166-2481(02)80006-XView
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Abstract

Microbiology microbial ecology
This chapter focuses on microbial ecology of soil biofilms. Xenobiotic bioavailability at soil surfaces and within biofilms is a dynamic property and is determined by the properties of the soil, the organic in question, and the composition and activities of the microbial community. The period for which the soil has been exposed to the contaminant and the horizon in which the xenobiotic or its metabolites are located are important factors to consider in any clean-up program. Traditional methods for accelerating pollutant transformations in soil have had only mixed success and both stimulation of the indigenous population and augmentation with novel bacteria or fungi often fail. However, newer molecular techniques for assessing the genotypic and phenotypic potential of a polluted soil are providing information that will permit a more rational approach to remediation. The chapter discusses methods involving DNA and RNA extraction and analysis and presents novel ways of selecting soil- and biofilm-competent inoculants. The problems associated with studying and manipulating such a diverse environment as soil are discussed in the chapter both in the narrow context of the needs of bioremediation and the broader context of understanding infinitely complex systems.

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