In situ stimulation vs. bioaugmentation: Can microbial inoculation of plant roots enhance biodegradation of organic compounds?

The use of plant roots and their associated rhizosphere bacteria for biocontainment and biorestoration offers several advantages for treating soil-dispersed contaminants and for application to large land areas. Plant roots function as effective delivery systems, since root growth transports bacteria vertically and laterally along the root in the soil column (see [ 1,2]). Movement of microbes along roots and downward in the soil column can be enhanced via irrigation [1-4]. For example, Ciafardini et al. [3] increased the nodulation and the final yield of soybeans during pod filling by including Bradyrhizobium japonicum in the irrigation water. Using rhizosphere microorganisms is advantageous for biodegradation of compounds that are degraded mainly by cometabolic processes, e.g., trichloroethylene (TCE). The energy source for bacterial growth and metabolism is supplied by the plant in the form of root exudates and other sloughed organic material. Plants are inexpensive, and by careful choice of species that possess either tap or fibrous root growth patterns, they can be used to influence mass transport of soil contaminants to the root surface via the transpiration stream [5]. Cropping of plants to remove heavy metals from contaminated soils has been proposed as a viable, low-cost, low-input treatment option [6]. The interestmore » in use of plants as a remediation strategy has even reached the popular press [7], where the use of ragweed for the reclamation of sites contaminated with tetraethyl lead and other heavy metals was discussed.« less