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Analysis of bacterial communities in and on concrete

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Abstract

Bacteria are known to catalyze degradation of concrete, and have more recently been used to repair micro-cracks in or form protective biofilms on cement mortar. However, the microbial communities in and on concrete under ordinary weathering conditions have not been characterized, in part because of difficulty in extracting DNA from inside concrete specimens. Here, we report a method for extraction of nucleic acids directly from hardened concrete. Using this method and classical cultivation methods, we demonstrate that most bacteria in or on concrete belong to two taxonomic groups, that the bacterial diversity is similar on the concrete surface and in the interior, and that many bacteria in and on concrete are related to microbes found in other dry, saline, or alkaline environments. This method lays the foundation for the creation of bioindicators for concrete and may open new avenues for the fields of non-destructive evaluation and assessment of concrete structures.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by grant # 12A01559 from the University of Delaware Research Foundation to JAM and TS. Additional support was provided by the Mid-Atlantic Transportation Sustainability University Transportation Center (MATS UTC). MATS UTC is funded by grant # DTRT13-G-UTC33 from the US Department of Transportation and matching funds organized by the Delaware Center for Transportation. We thank Keira Zhang for assistance with concrete processing. Additionally, the authors gratefully acknowledge Dr. Deborah Powell at the University of Delaware BioImaging Center for assistance with the SEM/EDS analysis, Dr. Brewster Kingham at the University of Delaware Sequencing and Genotyping Center for sequencing of the 16S rRNA genes of the isolates and the Research and Testing Laboratories in Lubbock, TX, for amplicon sequencing of the 16S rRNA genes from DNA extracted directly from concrete. We thank David Dodd at the Delaware Department of Transportation for concrete materials and mix designs, Dr. Jennifer Biddle and Dr. Farshad Rajabipoor for helpful discussions, and Gary Wenczel, Michael Davidson, and Dr. Jessica Keffer for technical assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, 19716, USA

    Julia A. Maresca & Paul Moser

  2. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Portland State University, Portland, OR, 97201, USA

    Thomas Schumacher

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  1. Julia A. Maresca
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Correspondence to Julia A. Maresca.

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Maresca, J.A., Moser, P. & Schumacher, T. Analysis of bacterial communities in and on concrete. Mater Struct 50, 25 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1617/s11527-016-0929-y

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