The advent of advanced, commercially available molecular genetic, biochemical and isotopic methods including quantitative PCR, denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE), phospholipid fatty acid analysis (PLFA) compound specific isotope analysis (CSIA), and stable isotope probing (SIP) provide additional tools for biotreatability studies.  These can be used to assess the presence, activity and status of microbial communities required for bioremediation.

DGGE and PLFA can be used to evaluate the active biomass, microbial diversity and changing microbial composition. qPCR testing is used to quantify microbial dechlorinating populations (i.e., Dehalococcoides, and Dehalobacter).  CSIA allows monitoring of enrichment of isotopes under degradation, thereby differentiating degradative from non-degradative processes (e.g., sorption, dilution, volatilization etc.) and providing evidence that actual chemical breakdown is occurring.  This can be particularly useful where daughter products are transient or difficult to quantify.  SIP utilizes heavy isotopes of target contaminants which can be quantified independently or tracked into microbial biomass, confirming biodegradation of specific target compounds.

The addition of these tools can enhance interpretation of traditional data sets with the added benefit of being evaluated on site materials prior to use for field programs.  This presentation will provide an overview of these analyses as well as examples of their use in biotreatability studies.