Project Summary (1995-2000)

Carbon tetrachloride is a suspected human carcinogen that is often present in groundwater because of its widespread past use as a fumigant, dry cleaning agent and solvent. Frequently, naturally occurring microoganisms can attack carbon tetrachloride in aquifers, but they do this slowly and a common by-product is chloroform which is also can cause toxicity. Pseudomonas, strain KC is a natural microbe that can convert carbon tetrachloride into carbon dioxide and other harmless end products, without producing chloroform. This microbe detoxifies carbon tetrachloride by producing and secreting a small biological molecule that reacts with and degrades the carbon tetrachloride. The aim of the project is to determine the optimal conditions for bioremediation with strain KC and to identify the genes responsible for the degradation process.