| Hypersaline environments have demonstrated a diversity of life. While halophilic and halotolerant organisms have shown the ability to degrade contaminants such as pesticides and aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons, little is known of the capacity of salt-tolerant organisms to degrade benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes (BTEX). These compounds are of concern because they are stable and highly water soluble. Benzene is a United States Environmental Protection Agency priority pollutant because it is a known carcinogen. Hypersaline soil samples were obtained from oil production sites in Seminole County, OK and the naturally occurring hypersaline soils of the Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma. These samples were used to assess the ability of native organisms to degrade BTEX.; Evidence of BTEX degrading organisms was found in the hypersaline soils tested. Highly enriched cultures were developed which consistently degraded added benzene as the sole carbon and energy source. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)... |
