A Metagenomic Analysis of Microbial Contamination in Aviation Fuels

<p>Microbial contamination in aviation fuel arises due to the impracticality of keeping fuel tanks sterile and the inevitable presence of water from condensation. Microbial contaminants in aviation fuels are a concern because of their potential to degrade the fuel accelerate corrosion within the fuel tank and threaten flight safety. This research aids in mitigating those problems by comprehensively characterizing the microbial communities affecting aviation fuels. Advances in molecular biological techniques have allowed for the identification of microorganisms which were not identified by the traditional culture-based methodologies used in previous studies. This study employed a molecular method known as 16S rDNA gene analysis to describe the microbial communities in aviation fuel. The microbial communities in JP-8 Jet A and biodiesel were evaluated at the phylum and genus levels of taxonomy. The JP-8 community was found to be much richer than both the Jet A and biodiesel community. The biodiesel community was found to be a subset of the JP-8 community. A small subset of microorganisms was found to exist across all three fuels while the majority of identified microorganisms were endemic to a single fuel type. Rarefaction analysis showed that further sampling is likely to reveal additional diversity.</p><p>This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore you will see the original copyright references library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world) and other notations in the work.</p><p>This work is in the public domain in the United States of America and possibly other nations. Within the United States you may freely copy and distribute this work as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.</p><p>As a reproduction of a historical artifact this work may contain missing or blurred pages poor pictures errant marks etc. Scholars believe and we concur that this work is important enough to be preserved reproduced and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.</p><br>