Nüsslein Lab- Dawn Ciulla

Dawn Ciulla
dciulla@microbio.umass.edu

Phytoremediation is the use of plants and associated microbes to clean up contaminated sites. Plant- microbe interactions play an important role in this technology. My interest is in the microbial community associated with the roots of the plant (rhizosphere environment). The goal of my project is to identify changes in the rhizosphere community over time in contaminated versus uncontaminated soil using molecular techniques. The contaminants for this project are polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) specifically Aroclor 1248.

Picture of a tall fescue seedling ~4 weeks old with enlarged view of its rhizosphere

PCBs general information sites:
US Environmental Protection Agency
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR)

Previous project- Rice City Pond (RCP) Phytoremediation project

The RCP is located in Uxbridge, MA within the Blackstone River Valley, which is the birthplace of the American Industrial Revolution (AIR). The AIR began a history in the Blackstone River Valley, changing the areas surrounding it by bringing economic growth, cultural resources and pollution.The goal of this project was to add amendments to RCP sediments to enhance uptake/removal of contaminants by native plants in a greenhouse study.

News articles about the project:
UMass article
UniSci article
Earth Vision article

Sampling at Rice City Pond in the Fall