Volume 4, Number 3, p. 162–168
Bioremediation of contaminated soil on the former military locations and proving grounds in Georgia
G. Khatisashvili, G. Kvesitadze, G. Adamia, N. Gagelidze, L. Sulamanidze, D. Ugrekhelidze, G. Zaalishvili, M. Ghoghoberidze and M. Ramishvili
Laboratory of Biological Oxidation, Durmishidze Institute of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, Georgian Academy of Sciences, David Agmashenebeli Allée 10 km, 0159 Tbilisi, Georgia
The type and level of chemical pollution of the military proving grounds in Georgia has been investigated via pollution of the soil at local sites by lead, 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) and waste mineral oil. Plants capable of accumulating lead and its compounds have been identified as have those actively absorbing TNT. The reductive and oxidative enzymes participating in TNT degradation have been studied and the correlation between plant nitroreductase activity and the plant’s ability to take up TNT from water solutions has been revealed. The cells of the intact plant Yucca gloriosa and cells of a callus culture have been studied and the effect of differentiation on plant cell ultrastructural changes upon TNT assimilation have been observed. Owing to the active degradation process in differentiated cells, the destruction of cells is more sharply expressed. Strains of microorganisms which act as destroyers of TNT and mineral oil were selected and the degree of degradation of these toxicants was studied. Cultivation conditions for those strains of microorganisms with the highest detoxification ability have been perfected.
Keywords: bioremediation, lead, nitroreductase, organic pollutants, phytoremediation, 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT), waste mineral oils