Publications by authors named "Jesica M Soder-Walz"

The groundwater at the Sardas landfill in Huesca, Spain, is contaminated with benzene, chlorobenzenes, and hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) isomers due to illegal waste dumping from a former lindane factory. In this study, microcosms using field-derived groundwater to evaluate in situ bioremediation were constructed. Anaerobic biostimulation with lactate successfully transformed α-, β-, δ-, and γ-HCH within two weeks, but failed to degrade benzene and less chlorinated benzenes, even with nutrient addition.

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Dichloromethane (DCM), a common hazardous industrial chemical, is anaerobically metabolized by four bacterial genera: , , . Dichloromethanomonas, and . Formimonas.

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Toluene is a pollutant frequently detected in contaminated groundwater, mostly due to leakage from underground gasoline storage tanks and pipeline ruptures. Multi-element compound-specific isotope analysis provides a framework to understand transformation processes and design efficient remediation strategies. In this study, we enriched an anaerobic bacterial culture derived from a BTEX-contaminated aquifer that couples toluene and phenol oxidation with nitrate reduction and the concomitant production of carbon dioxide and biomass.

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Enhanced In Situ Bioremediation (EISB) using Emulsified Vegetable Oil (EVO) as a long-term electron donor has gained prominence for the treatment of groundwater contaminated with chlorinated ethenes (CEs). This study explores the potential of isotopic and molecular biology tools (MBT) to investigate the CEs (PCE, TCE and cis-DCE) bioremediation using EVO in a contaminated site. A multiple approach using C and Cl-CSIA, quantification of Dehalococcoides (Dhc) and specific reductive dechlorination (RD) gene population, and hydrochemical data in microcosm experiments and field samples was applied.

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1,2-dichloropropane (1,2-DCP) and 1,2,3-trichloropropane (1,2,3-TCP) are hazardous chemicals frequently detected in groundwater near agricultural zones due to their historical use in chlorinated fumigant formulations. In this study, we show that the organohalide-respiring bacterium Dehalogenimonas alkenigignens strain BRE15 M can grow during the dihaloelimination of 1,2-DCP and 1,2,3-TCP to propene and allyl chloride, respectively. Our work also provides the first application of dual isotope approach to investigate the anaerobic reductive dechlorination of 1,2-DCP and 1,2,3-TCP.

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Dehalobacter (Firmicutes) encompass obligate organohalide-respiring bacteria used for bioremediation of groundwater contaminated with halogenated organics. Various aspects of their biochemistry remain unknown, including the identities and interactions of respiratory proteins. Here, we sequenced the genome of Dehalobacter sp.

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Article Synopsis
  • The biodegradation of lower chlorinated benzenes, particularly monochlorobenzene (MCB) and 1,4-dichlorobenzene (1,4-DCB), was studied at a contaminated coastal aquifer, showing effective degradation in aerobic conditions but not in anaerobic conditions with lactate.
  • Aerobic microcosms demonstrated the ability to degrade multiple chlorinated compounds without any observed inhibition, suggesting a strong microbial activity in those conditions.
  • The study also introduced carbon isotopic analysis to track the biodegradation process, revealing weak carbon isotope fractionation for aerobic pathways and indicating that significant shifts in carbon isotopes are aligned with anaerobic reductive dechlorination processes.
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Trichloromethane (TCM) is a pollutant frequently detected in contaminated aquifers, and only four bacterial strains are known to respire it. Here, we obtained a novel Dehalobacter strain capable of transforming TCM to dichloromethane, which was denominated Dehalobacter sp. strain 8M.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study focused on bacteria that use vicinally halogenated alkanes for respiration and aimed to characterize the proteins and their organization in these bacteria.
  • A draft genome of strain BRE15M was sequenced, revealing 31 reductive dehalogenase genes, but only a few had proteins for membrane anchoring.
  • Proteomic analysis showed DcpA as the most expressed protein in a complex that includes several essential subunits for respiration, suggesting a unique quinone-independent respiratory mechanism for these bacteria.
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Article Synopsis
  • A mixed culture of bacteria (Dehalobacterium, Acetobacterium, Desulfovibrio, and Wolinella) was used to study how these microbes interact to degrade DCM (dichloromethane) through a three-step process involving fermentation and reductive acetogenesis.
  • 16S rRNA gene sequencing revealed that Desulfovibrio was the most abundant in cultures enriched with formate or hydrogen, while Dehalobacterium was only present in DCM-amended cultures.
  • The study found that certain co-contaminants like chloroform and diuron completely inhibited DCM degradation, though the cultures regained their degradation ability when transferred to clean medium, highlighting the impact of microbial interactions and
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