I am currently working on biodegradation of POPs using fungi in liquid culture. However I would extend my work to in vivo. If I follow bioaugmentation method by augmenting my new isolates to the field, my isolates must be resistant to antagonistic activities. In addition, the isolates must be acclimatized to new environment. If I choose biostimulation method, there will be a question why the indigenous microbes do not degrade POPs efficiently? If the indigenous microbes degrade POPs efficiently then there won't be any POPs.
Bioaugmentation (amendment with selected bacterial strains) and/or biostimulation (nutrients addition and/or air supply) are relatively new fields in environmental microbiology for preventing pollution and cleanup contamination. The efficiency of application of bioaugmentation/biostimulation treatments, is used for recovery of crude oil from polluted seawater. Persistent organic pollutants (POPs). are chemicals that
remain intact in the environment for long periods, become widely distributed geographically, accumulate in the fatty tissue of living organisms and are toxic to humans and wildlife.
Bioaugmentation is useful for degradation of xenobiotic compounds and it is less costly as compare to biostimulation.
Thank you for your answers.
One of the biggest problems in bioaugmentation is antagonistic activity of microbes against my isolates. In an in vitro study, the growth parameters (pH, temperature and carbon source) of particular isolate are optimized. Further, the medium is sterile. Therefore, an isolate could show better degradation activities. when the same isolate is inoculated in the field where all parameters are not favor for the growth of isolate, the activity of my isolate will be inhibited. further the antagonistic activity of other microbes pose threat to my isolate. if my isolate is not able to significantly counter act to antagonistic activity, my isolate will be eliminated from the field.
You have two options, but neither of them are easy.
1. You can augment the soil with your isolate, then you need to amend the environmental parameters such as pH and nutrients as suitable for your organism. As you are applying the isolate in very high cell densities, they may survive and do the job.
Biostimulation is also a good option, but to do it you may need to find out what are the limiting factors that are affecting the low levels of activity of the existing microflora. Then shifting those barriers amy help them to proliferate and expedite the process.
Thank you very much for your answers.
I am going to do a semi-microcosm study on degradation of POPs particularly endosulfan and endosulfan sulfate.
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