Microbial Migration: Implications for Bioremediation Technologies

生物修复是利用微生物的自然降解过程来清理化学废物的一项新兴技术。尽管一些案例研究报告了令人印象深刻的结果，例如最近的石油泄漏后阿拉斯加海岸线的恢复，但控制化学降解率的过程并不是很清楚。还没有充分研究的一个方面是细菌种群迁移的作用。游动细菌能够对化学梯度做出反应，朝着有益的物质移动，远离可能对它们的生存不利的物质。这项研究的目的是确定细菌迁移在生物修复过程中的意义及其加速化学降解总体速度的潜力。实验研究将根据已知细胞机制得出的种群参数来衡量细菌的运动性和趋化性，这些参数来自于假单胞菌和苯等模型系统的已知细胞机制。这些参数将被合并到描述细菌种群动态的数学模型中，以确定它们对种群的影响。研究结果将被用于确定这类研究和方法的可行性，并为生物修复领域的研究计划的发展提供方向。

Bioremediation is an emerging technology which exploits the natural degradative processes of microorganisms for the purpose of cleaning up chemical wastes. Although several case studies have reported impressive results, for example the restoration of the Alaskan coastline following the recent oil spill, the processes controlling the rates of chemical degradation are not well understood. One aspect which has not been fully investigated is the role of bacterial population migration. Motile bacteria are able to move in response to chemical gradients toward beneficial substances and away from substances which may be detrimental to their survival. The purpose of this study is to determine the significance of bacterial migration in bioremediation processes and its potential for accelerating the overall rate of chemical degradation. Experimental studies will measure bacterial motility and chemotaxis in terms of population parameters derived from known cell mechanisms for a model system such as Pseudomonas and benzene. These parameters will be incorporated into mathematical models describing bacterial population dynamics to determine their effect on the population. The results will be used to determine the feasibility of this type of study and approach and also provide direction for the development of a research program in the area of bioremediation.