Herbicbiorem
Strategies to accelerate the productive biodegradation of several herbicides under environmental stress conditions
Acronym: HERBICBIOREM
Duration: 01.01.2000 - 31.12.2002
Contact: Dr. Hermann J. Heipieper
Tel.: ++49 (0)341 235-2772
Fax ++49 (0)341 235-2492
Permoserstraße 15
04318 Leipzig, Germany
The project is focussed on the biodegradation of persistent herbicides belonging to the groups of triazines, amides and chlorophenoxyalkanes under stress conditions which are present in every polluted site. Both the physiology of adaptive responses and the regulation of catabolic genes under different stress conditions will be investigated. For herbicides with a low solubility, attempts to increase their bioavailability will be made by promoting biosurfactant activity of microbial consortia. Additionally, the project will focus on toxicological investigations of herbicides and their metabolites using amphibian and insect cell tissues, and toxicity assessments developed for Saccharomyces cerevisiae as an eukaryotic model organism. The project will develop techniques which will allow an increased use of biological methods to remediate sites contaminated with herbicides and other xenobiotics.