whereRU: Aresty Poster 88 - Biologically-catalyzed Arsenic Processing by Aresty Posters 2009

Impact of Varying Arsenic Concentrations on Microbial Community Structures
by Shravan Dave [shravan@eden.rutgers.edu]
Young Lab, Biotech Center, School of Environmental & Biological Sciences

Microbial reduction of arsenic(V) to arsenic(III) plays an important role in environmental arsenic mobilization. Biologically catalyzed reduction of As(V) to As(III) can facilitate clean-up of arsenic-contaminated sites since As(III) is much more mobile in the environment. Because many bacteria are known to process low levels of arsenic as a "detox" mechanism, it is important to differentiate such "detox" microbes from ones that actually utilize arsenic as a terminal electron acceptor.This project investigated bacteria enriched from contaminated sediments in the NJ Meadowlands by exposing identical sediments to either low or high As(V) concentrations. After establishing stable As(V)-reducing cultures, amplification and cloning of the 16s rRNA gene was used to determine community phylogenetics. The general community structure of the original sediment was determined, along with a qualitative differentiation in said structure after low- and high-As(V) exposure.