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Appl Environ Microbiol. 1990 March; 56(3): 758-763
Copyright © 1990, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Die-Away Kinetic Analysis of the Capacity of Epilithic and Planktonic Bacteria from Clean and Polluted River Water To Biodegrade Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate

¹ Department of Biochemistry and School of Pure and Applied Biology, ² University of Wales, P.O. Box 903, Cardiff CF1 1ST, Wales, United Kingdom

ABSTRACT

The capacities of epilithic and planktonic river bacterial populations to degrade sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) in samples taken at two times during 1987 from one clean and four polluted sites in a South Wales river were estimated in die-away tests under simulated environmental conditions. There was a relatively slow disappearance of SDS in die-away tests for both planktonic and epilithic populations taken from the clean source site, as compared with those taken from the downstream polluted sites, for which the rate of biodegradation was accelerated, sometimes after an apparent initial lag period. The kinetic components contributing to the die-away curves were quantified by nonlinear regression analysis in which the experimental data were fitted to a variety of possible kinetic models. All samples except for one from the polluted sites best fitted a model which describes the biodegradation of SDS at concentrations well below its K_m by bacteria whose growth is exponential and unaffected by the addition of a test substrate. Each sample from the clean source site fitted a different model, but there was generally little or no growth on endogenous carbon. A consideration of the numerical values of constants derived from the modeling of epilithic and planktonic populations from polluted sites indicated clearly that the biodegradative capacity of epilithic bacterial populations towards SDS is more stable than that of planktonic bacterial populations.

^* Corresponding author.