CHANGE IN BACTERIAL COMMUNITY DURING BIODEGRADATION OF ANILINE

The response of river water microbial communities to chemical compound s was monitored under laboratory conditions using aniline as a model. Bacteria were collected from unpolluted and polluted sites. Bacterial abundance (plate and total direct counting) and its relation to anilin e biodegradation was examined. Colony hybridization with 16S rRNA olig onucleotide probes was used to study the changes in microbial communit y structure during biodegradation of aniline. The changes in bacterial abundance and community structure were related to biodegadation of an iline. Burkholderia-Pseudomonas (rRNA group III), an authentic Alcalig enes group became dominant despite the initial differences in the micr obial communities, suggesting that these genera are the main aniline d egraders in the aquatic environment.