Association of Bacteria with Particulate Material Free and Bound Substrates

ASSOCIATION OF BACTERIA WITH PARTICULATE MATERIAL FREE AND BOUND SUBSTRATES 

Xenobiotics exist not only in the free state but also in association with organic and mineral components of particles in the water mass, and the soil and sediment phases. This association is a central determinant of the persistence of xenobiotics in the environment, since the extent to which the reactions are reversible is generally unknown. Such residues may therefore be inaccessible to microbial attack and apparently persistent. This is a critical factor in determining the effectiveness of bioremediation (Harkness et al. 1993). Although the most persuasive evidence for the significance of reduced bioavailability comes from data on the persistence of agrochemicals in terrestrial systems (Calderbank 1989), the principles can be translated with modification to aquatic and sediment phases that contain organic matter that resembles structurally that of soils. 

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