Microbial degradation of organophosphate pesticides and their derivatives.
- The overall aim of this project is to isolate, identify and characterize microorganisms which are able to detoxify selected priority pollutants remaining at the waste disposal site at Høfde 42 (Harboøre Tange). The old waste site contains a wide array of toxic pollutants (including large quantities of methyl and ethyl parathion and their degradation products) and is now being subjected to experimental remediation using biological and non-biological techniques. Bioremediation is one potential approach of decontamination and this PhD project is part of a joint initiative between local and national authorities for cleaning up the toxic waste site at Høfde 42. Superior bacterial degraders isolated from the waste site will be selected for studying rates and kinetics of pollutant degradation at different conditions such as: salinity, pH temperature, substrate and end-product concentrations. Likewise the substrate/pollutant specificity of the strains will be investigated. Results from this study may provide useful information (and bacterial strains) for the development of decontamination strategies for this particular waste site - by either in situ or ex situ techniques. Læs om andre projekter ved mikrobiologi her