Objective
This multidisciplinary project concerns the ecological problems of the Dnieper river - the major ukrainian river flowing into the Black Sea. The proposed research deals with: systematic monitoring of organic pollutants in the lower part of the Dnieper river; estimation of the environmental impacts of the main contaminating industrial and agricultural units on the ecological situation in these regions and the Black Sea; the development of bioremediation technologies targeted to decontamination of the polluted sites in the above zones.
Our specific goals inside this project are the following: Systematic monitoring of the organic pollutants (phenols, petroleum hydrocarbons and pesticides) in the lower parts of the Dnieper (Zaporozhskoe, Kachovskoe waterdeposits, waste waters of a number of plants tributing to the Dnieper or to the rivers flowing into the Dnieper). This research will provide the data, concerning the specific situation with organic pollutants; i.e. the quantity and composition of the pollutants in specific places, the dynamic of its changes, and will therefore set definite tasks for the microbiologists and biochemists to search for the optimal degradation pathways for given circumstances.
Evaluation of the environmental impact of the contamination produced by plants in the lower parts of the Dnieper. The obtained monitoring data will be analyzed with the aim of better characterizing the possible damage of the pollutants on the total ecological situations of the Dnieper and relative part of the the Black Sea. This investigation will allow us to set the priorities for the development and application of the biotechnological methods for depolluting in the most endangered places.
Selection, study and development of the strains for the bioremediation of the organic pollutants. It is planned to develop microorganisms, possessing polyfunctional ability to transform organic stances, and, therefore capable to bioremediate the sites contaminated by different types of pollutant. This will be done either by recombinant DNA techniques, or by transfer of natural plasmids into the appropriate microorganisms. Together with the study and application of already discovered degradation pathways in different microorganism like Pseudomonas, Achromobacter, Nocardia, Candida, Rhodopseudomonas, Sphingomonas, Clostridium, etc., efforts will be also directed to discovery of new microbiological systems capable of detoxifying and mineralizing industrial and agriculture organic pollutants, and to investigate their degradative pathways.
Study of the biodegradation processes on the mollar level. Detailed investigation of the catalytic mechanisms of the transformations occurring during bioremediation, and studies of structure-function relationships of the enzymes involved and strate selectivity will be undertaken. Therefore, it is planned to perform the isolation and purification of the monooxygenases and dioxygenases, which are the key enzymes in aerobic biotransformation of almost all organic pollutants (mollar oxygen activation and sequent oxidation of organic molles), from Pseudomonas, Rhodopseudomonas, Sphingomonas species. These enzymes will be jected to detailed spectroscopic and kinetic characterization.
Application trials of the microorganisms for bioremediation of organic pollutants. As a final task of this project it is planned to apply the bioremediation techniques to the removal of organic compounds in situ. On the basis of all the above results, the most appropriate microorganisms for the specific type of pollutants will be selected and will be applied in situ, for depolluting of waste waters of one of the bigest plant situated in the very lowest part of the Dnieper river (Nikopol South-Tube plant).
Topic(s)
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50121 Florence
Italy