Light production can then be continuously monitored to determine initial pollutant concentration as well as long-term degradation of the pollutant. These bacteria are being tested in lysimeters in a real-world controlled release. A lysimeter is an in-ground contained reactor where all water, air, nutrients, etc., entering and leaving the system can be collected and controlled. The soil from these lysimeters is being tested in regular intervals. To show bacterial survival and naphthalene degradation in the environment, light emission is monitored by light detection equipment.
Some bacteria produce enzymes that can degrade PCBs.
In this laboratory, the genes for these enzymes have been genetically engineered into bacteria that can also degrade surfactants to produce bacteria that can degrade both surfactants and PCBs. The bacteria will be added to the surfactant-PCB solution. One way that we can tell that these bacteria are actively degrading PCBs is by measuring the PCB degrading enzyme produced by these bacteria. This enzyme converts a simple biphenyl compound into a yellow metabolite. To maintain effluent discharge criteria, plant operators can spend hundreds of thousand of dollars for physical remedies to maintain water quality.