NSF-BSF Application: Developing Sustainable Approaches for Cometabolic Degradation of TCE and cDCE in Groundwater through Stable Isotope Techniques

地下水污染仍然是一个重大的全球性问题，因为饮用受污染的水对人类健康构成威胁。日益严重的水资源短缺导致迫切需要有效和廉价的方法来处理受污染的地下水。该项目的目标是利用创新的监测方法来确定最适当的方法，以满足这一需要。这项由密歇根州立大学和本古里安大学的研究人员组成的国际合作研究项目将开发一种称为“生物修复”的生物处理方法，以去除两种最常见的地下水污染物。这项研究将通过新的科学化学和生物分析技术促进对生物修复的理解。成功开发高效和低成本的处理技术将通过增加清洁水的供应而造福社会。额外的好处来自于对工程专业代表性不足的学生的培训，从而加强和多样化国家的STEM劳动力。本研究由美国国家科学基金会（NSF）和美国-以色列两国科学基金会（The US-Israel Binational Science Foundation）通过特别提交机会NSF 20- 094共同资助，旨在加强地下水重要污染物三氯乙烯（TCE）和顺式二氯乙烯（cDCE）的好氧生物修复。这一目标将通过具体的研究来实现，这些研究旨在阐明哪些微生物提供最可持续的TCE和cDCE共代谢生物降解速率以及共代谢底物摄取。将使用稳定同位素探测（SIP）评估来自共代谢底物以及TCE、cDCE及其降解产物的碳的去向。SIP将与化合物特定同位素分析（CSIA）相结合，利用美国和以色列研究团队的互补专业知识和设施来确定这些转化的同位素富集模式。同时使用SIP和CSIA的方法将首次允许在该领域确定生物降解途径和负责的微生物。这项研究的成功完成将改变我们的能力，以确定最可持续的生物修复方案，并促进原位清除机制的阐明。这些数据将使补救专业人员能够更准确地预测污染物去除时间和评估处理方案。这项研究具有造福社会的巨大潜力，因为这些化学物质是美国大量含水层的主要地下水污染物，该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Groundwater contamination remains a significant global problem because of the risk to human health from drinking contaminated water. Increasing water scarcity has led to an urgent need for effective and inexpensive approaches to treat contaminated groundwater. The goal of this project is to address this need using innovative monitoring methods to determine the most appropriate approach. This research project by an international collaboration of researchers from Michigan State University and Ben Gurion University will develop a biological treatment approach called ‘bioremediation’ to remove two of the most common groundwater contaminants. The research will advance understanding of bioremediation through novel state-of-the-science chemical and biological analytical techniques. Successful development of efficient and low-cost treatment technology will benefit society by increasing availability of clean water. Additional benefits result from the training of underrepresented students in engineering, thus strengthening and diversifying the Nation’s STEM workforce. This research is jointly funded by NSF and The US-Israel Binational Science foundation through the special submission opportunity NSF 20-094.The goal of this project is to enhance the aerobic bioremediation of the important groundwater contaminants trichloroethene [TCE] and cis-dichloroethene [cDCE]. This goal will be achieved by specific research designed to elucidate which microorganisms provide the most sustainable rates of co-metabolic biodegradation of TCE and cDCE, as well as co-metabolic substrate uptake. The fate of carbon from both the co-metabolic substrates as well as TCE, cDCE, and their degradation products will be assessed using stable isotope probing (SIP). SIP will be combined with compound specific isotope analysis (CSIA) to determine isotope enrichment patterns for these transformations using the complementary expertise and facilities of the U.S. and Israeli research teams. The approach of using both SIP and CSIA will allow for the first time the identification of biodegradation pathways and responsible microorganisms in the field. Successful completion of this research will transform our ability to identify the most sustainable bioremediation scenarios and facilitate elucidation of removal mechanisms in situ. Such data will enable remediation professionals to predict contaminant removal times and assess treatment scenarios more accurately. The research has strong potential to benefit society because these chemicals are major groundwater contaminants across a large number of aquifers in the U.S., Israel, and many other countries.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.