Metabolism of chlorinated biphenyls: use of 3,3'- and 3,5-dichlorobiphenyl as sole sources of carbon by natural species of Ralstonia and Pseudomonas

Black Carbon Impacts on Paraburkholderia xenovorans Strain LB400 Cell Enrichment and Activity: Implications toward Lower-Chlorinated Polychlorinated Biphenyls Biodegradation Potential

Volatilization of lower-chlorinated polychlorinated biphenyls (LC-PCBs) from sediment poses health threats to nearby communities and ecosystems. Biodegradation combined with black carbon (BC) materials is an emerging bioaugmentation approach to remove PCBs from sediment, but development of aerobic biofilms on BC for long-term, sustained LC-PCBs remediation is poorly understood. This work aimed to characterize the cell enrichment and activity of biphenyl- and benzoate-grown Paraburkholderia xenovorans strain LB400 on various BCs. Biphenyl dioxygenase gene (bphA) abundance on four BC types demonstrated corn kernel biochar hosted at least 4 orders of magnitude more attached cells per gram than other feedstocks, and microscopic imaging revealed the attached live cell fraction was >1.5× more on corn kernel biochar than GAC. BC characteristics (i.e., sorption potential, pore size, pH) appear to contribute to cell attachment differences. Reverse transcription qPCR indicated that BC feedstocks significantly influenced bphA expression in attached cells. The bphA transcript-per-gene ratio of attached cells was >10-fold more than suspended cells, confirmed by transcriptomics. RNA-seq also demonstrated significant upregulation of biphenyl and benzoate degradation pathways on attached cells, as well as revealing biofilm formation potential/cell-cell communication pathways. These novel findings demonstrate aerobic PCB-degrading cell abundance and activity could be tuned by adjusting BC feedstocks/attributes to improve LC-PCBs biodegradation potential.

Recent advances in the biodegradation of polychlorinated biphenyls

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are typical lasting organic pollutants. Persistence and recalcitrance to biodegradation of PCBs have hampered the transformation of PCB congeners from the environment. Biological transformation of polychlorinated biphenyls could take place through anaerobic dechlorination, aerobic microbial degradation, and a combination of transformation of anaerobic dechlorination and aerobic degradation. Under anaerobic conditions, microbial dechlorination is an important degradation mode for PCBs, especially high-chlorinated congeners. The low-chlorinated compounds formed after reductive dechlorination could be further aerobically degraded and completely mineralized. This paper reviews the recent advances in biological degradation of PCBs, introduces the functional bacteria and enzymes involved in the anaerobic and aerobic degradation of PCBs, and discusses the synergistic action of anaerobic reduction and aerobic degradation. In addition, the different ways to the microbial remediation of PCBs-contaminated environments are discussed. This review provides a theoretical foundation and practical basis to use PCBs-degrading microorganisms for bioremediation.

Stable-Isotope Probing-Enabled Cultivation of the Indigenous Bacterium Ralstonia sp. Strain M1, Capable of Degrading Phenanthrene and Biphenyl in Industrial Wastewater

To identify and obtain the indigenous degraders metabolizing phenanthrene (PHE) and biphenyl (BP) from the complex microbial community within industrial wastewater, DNA-based stable-isotope probing (DNA-SIP) and cultivation-based methods were applied in the present study. DNA-SIP results showed that two bacterial taxa (Vogesella and Alicyclobacillus) were considered the key biodegraders responsible for PHE biodegradation only, whereas Bacillus and Cupriavidus were involved in BP degradation. Vogesella and Alicyclobacillus have not been linked with PHE degradation previously. Additionally, DNA-SIP helped reveal the taxonomic identity of Ralstonia-like degraders involved in both PHE and BP degradation. To target the separation of functional Ralstonia-like degraders from the wastewater, we modified the traditional cultivation medium and culture conditions. Finally, an indigenous PHE- and BP-degrading strain, Ralstonia pickettii M1, was isolated via a cultivation-dependent method, and its role in PHE and BP degradation was confirmed by enrichment of the 16S rRNA gene and distinctive dioxygenase genes in the DNA-SIP experiment. Our study has successfully established a program for the application of DNA-SIP in the isolation of the active functional degraders from an environment. It also deepens our insight into the diversity of indigenous PHE- and BP-degrading communities.IMPORTANCE The comprehensive treatment of wastewater in industrial parks suffers from the presence of multiple persistent organic pollutants (POPs), such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which reduce the activity of activated sludge and are difficult to eliminate. Characterizing and applying active bacterial degraders metabolizing multiple POPs therefore helps to reveal the mechanisms of synergistic metabolism and to improve wastewater treatment efficiency in industrial parks. To date, SIP studies have successfully investigated the biodegradation of PAHs or PCBs in real-world habitats. DNA-SIP facilitates the isolation of target microorganisms that pose environmental concerns. Here, an indigenous phenanthrene (PHE)- and biphenyl (BP)-degrading strain in wastewater, Ralstonia pickettii M1, was isolated via a cultivation-dependent method, and its role in PHE and BP degradation was confirmed by DNA-SIP. Our study provides a routine protocol for the application of DNA-SIP in the isolation of the active functional degraders from an environment.

An overlooked environmental issue? A review of the inadvertent formation of PCB-11 and other PCB congeners and their occurrence in consumer products and in the environment

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are banned from production and use in most countries as they are persistent organic pollutants (POPs) of concern for environment and health. Recent research has pointed at a new environment issue resulting from the inadvertent formation of PCBs in certain processes, in particular the pigment production. PCB-11 is a major by-product in these processes, but PCB-28, PCB-52, PCB-77 as well as the nonachlorinated PCBs and PCB-209 have been found in pigments and consumer products as well. In addition to environmental emissions via point sources, in particular related to industrial and municipal wastewater, atmospheric transport seems to be important for the global distribution of PCB-11. Thus, PCB-11 has also been detected in the polar regions. Worldwide air concentrations appear relatively uniform, but maxima have been found in urban and industrialised areas. Data on the uptake and accumulation of PCB-11 in the food chain are still inconclusive: Although food web studies do not show biomagnification, PCB-11 has been detected in humans. The human exposure might originate from the direct contact to consumer products as well as from the omnipresence of PCB-11 in the environment.

Sphingobium fuliginis HC3: a novel and robust isolated biphenyl- and polychlorinated biphenyls-degrading bacterium without dead-end intermediates accumulation

Biphenyl and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are typical environmental pollutants. However, these pollutants are hard to be totally mineralized by environmental microorganisms. One reason for this is the accumulation of dead-end intermediates during biphenyl and PCBs biodegradation, especially benzoate and chlorobenzoates (CBAs). Until now, only a few microorganisms have been reported to have the ability to completely mineralize biphenyl and PCBs. In this research, a novel bacterium HC3, which could degrade biphenyl and PCBs without dead-end intermediates accumulation, was isolated from PCBs-contaminated soil and identified as Sphingobium fuliginis. Benzoate and 3-chlorobenzoate (3-CBA) transformed from biphenyl and 3-chlorobiphenyl (3-CB) could be rapidly degraded by HC3. This strain has strong degradation ability of biphenyl, lower chlorinated (mono-, di- and tri-) PCBs as well as mono-CBAs, and the biphenyl/PCBs catabolic genes of HC3 are cloned on its plasmid. It could degrade 80.7% of 100 mg L -1 biphenyl within 24 h and its biphenyl degradation ability could be enhanced by adding readily available carbon sources such as tryptone and yeast extract. As far as we know, HC3 is the first reported that can degrade biphenyl and 3-CB without accumulation of benzoate and 3-CBA in the genus Sphingobium, which indicates the bacterium has the potential to totally mineralize biphenyl/PCBs and might be a good candidate for restoring biphenyl/PCBs-polluted environments.

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in Africa: a review of environmental levels

Several studies have shown an increase in PCB sources in Africa due to leakage and wrongly disposed transformers, continuing import of e-waste from countries of the North, shipwreck, and biomass burning. Techniques used in the recycling of waste such as melting and open burning to recover precious metals make PCBs contained in waste and other semivolatile organic substances prone to volatilization, which has resulted in an increase of PCB levels in air, blood, breast milk, and fish in several regions of Africa. Consequences for workers performing these activities without adequate measures of protection could result in adverse human health effects. Recent biodegradation studies in Africa have revealed the existence of exotic bacterial strains exhibiting unique and unusual PCB metabolic capability in terms of array of congeners that can serve as carbon source and diversity of congeners attacked, marking considerable progress in the development of effective bioremediation strategies for PCB-contaminated matrices such as sediments and soils in tropical regions. Action must be taken to find and deal with the major African sources of these pollutants. The precise sources of the PCB plume should be pinned down and used to complete the pollutant inventories of African countries. These nations must then be helped to safely dispose of the potentially dangerous chemicals.

Bioaugmentation of a polychlorobiphenyl contaminated soil with two aerobic bacterial strains

The consortium of aerobic bacterial strains Rhodococcus ruber P25 and Microbacterium sp. B51 was bioaugmented in natural and industrial soils, contaminated by commercial mixture of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) Sovol. The results showed that the bioaugmentation of bacterial strains led to PCBs degradation in soil. Sovol at the initial concentration of about 100 mg kg(-1) was removed by 72.2% in the bioaugmented system with natural soil within 90 days, while the system with industrial soil removed 96.4% of this compound within the same period. The biodegradation kinetics of PCBs in the bioaugmented soil systems was not dependent on the presence of indigenous microflora. It was found that the growth dynamics of the strains R. ruber P25 and Microbacterium sp. B51 correlated with the specific degradation of Sovol. The strains R. ruber P25 and Microbacterium sp. B51 displayed high degradative activity to all congeners (ortho-, meta- and para-substituent) contained in Sovol. Removal percentage for each congeners amounted to 59-100% in the bioaugmented systems. This study suggests that augmentation of PCB-contaminated soils with strain R. ruber P25 and Microbacterium sp. B51 is promising in PCB bioremediation.

Source apportionment of polychlorinated biphenyls in the sediments of the Delaware River

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are toxic, persistent, bioaccumulative compounds that threaten water quality in many areas, including the Delaware River. In 2003, total maximum daily loads for PCBs were promulgated for the tidal portion of the river, requiring the collection of a massive and unprecedented data set on PCBs in an urban estuary using state of the art, high-resolution high mass spectrometry (EPA method 1668 revision A). In previous publications, this data set has been examined using positive matrix factorization (PMF) to apportion PCB sources in the air, water, and permitted discharges to the river. Here, the same technique is used to apportion PCB sources in the sediment. This holistic approach allows the comparison of source types and magnitudes to the air, water, and sediment, and allows conclusions to be drawn about the cycling of PCBs in a typical urbanized estuary. A data set containing 87 chromatographic peaks representing 132 PCB congeners in 81 samples and 6 duplicated samples was analyzed. Seven factors were resolved. Three represent relatively unweathered Aroclors. Two were related to the non-Aroclor sources of diarylide yellow pigments and titanium tetrachloride production. The two remaining factors were probably originally related to Aroclors, but they are so highly weathered as to be unrecognizable as Aroclors, and thus have probably resided in the river for a long time. Comparing the abundance of the resolved PCB factors in the air, water, discharges, and sediment demonstrates that high molecular weight formulations, such as Aroclor 1260 and PCBs 206, 208, and 209 produced during titanium tetrachloride synthesis accumulate preferentially in the sediment, in keeping with their greater hydrophobicity. In contrast, lower molecular weight formulations, including the products of PCB dechlorination occurring in sewers, do not accumulate appreciably. PCB 11 from pigment use does accumulate in sediments and also seems to be distributed throughout the estuary via the atmosphere.

The Three-Species Consortium of Genetically Improved Strains Cupriavidus necator RW112, Burkholderia xenovorans RW118, and Pseudomonas pseudoalcaligenes RW120 Grows with Technical Polychlorobiphenyl, Aroclor 1242

Burkholderia xenovorans LB400, Cupriavidus necator H850, and Pseudomonas pseudoalcaligenes KF707 are bacterial strains able to mineralize biphenyl and to co-oxidize many of its halogenated derivatives (PCBs). Only strain LB400 also mineralizes a few mono- and dichlorobiphenyls, due to the presence of a functioning chlorocatechol pathway. Here, we used a Tn5-based minitransposon shuttle system to chromosomically introduce genes tcbRCDEF, encoding the chlorocatechol pathway into KF707, and genes cbdABC encoding a 2-chlorobenzoate 1,2-dioxygenase into KF707 and LB400, as well as transposon Tn4653 from the TOL plasmid, providing genes xylXYZL, encoding a broad-range toluate (methylbenzoate) dioxygenase and its dihydrodiol dehydrogenase, to extend the range for the mineralization of halogenated benzoates in LB400 and in KF707 through co-oxidation of halobenzoates into chlorocatechols. The engineered derivatives of LB400 and KF707 thus gained the ability for the mineralization of all isomeric monochloro- and bromobenzoates of the so-called lower pathway which, consequently, also allowed the mineralization of all monochlorobiphenyls and a number of di- and trichlorobiphenyls, thus preventing the accumulation of halobenzoates and of catabolites thereof. LB400 and KF707 also grow with the two commercial PCB formulations, Aroclor 1221 and Aroclor 1232, as the sole carbon and energy sources, but not with higher halogenated PCB mixtures, similar to the already published strain RW112. Repeated exposition of the modified LB400 to short pulses of UV light, over a prolonged period of time, allowed the isolation of a derivative of LB400, termed RW118, capable of growth with Aroclor 1016 still containing only traces of biphenyl, and in co-culture with modified KF707 termed RW120, and modified H850 (RW112) with Aroclor 1242, the commercial mixture already void of biphenyl and monochlorobiphenyls.

Evidence for unique and ubiquitous environmental sources of 3,3'-dichlorobiphenyl (PCB 11)

The non-Aroclor congener 3,3'-dichlorobiphenyl (PCB 11) has been recently detected in air, water, biota, sediment, and suspended sediment. Although it has been known since at least the 1970s that this congener is produced inadvertently during the production of diarylide yellow pigments, this work presents the first evidence that the use of these pigments in consumer goods results in the dispersion of PCB 11 throughout the environment at levels that are problematic in terms of achieving water quality standards for the sum of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). In this work, PCB 11 is measured at ppb levels in consumer goods that are likely to be discarded in ways that allow them to enter wastewater treatment plants and combined sewer overflows, including newspapers, magazines, cardboard boxes used for food packaging, and plastic bags. Also, using data sets acquired for the purpose of calculating total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) for PCBs, PCB 11 loads to the New York/New Jersey Harbor and Delaware River are calculated. Despite the fact that there are no known manufacturers of diarylide yellow pigments in the Delaware River watershed, the loads of PCB 11 to the Delaware River exceed the TMDL for the sum of PCBs by nearly a factor of 2. The ratio of PCB 11 to a characteristic dechlorination end product, PCB 4 (2,2'-dichlorobiphenyl), in these data sets indicates that dechlorination is not a significant source of PCB 11 in these systems. In the upper Hudson River, where extensive dechlorination of heavy PCB congeners occurs, the ratio is just 0.012. In contrast, downstream in the NY/NJ Harbor as well as in the Delaware River the ratio is much higher and more variable. Pigment use therefore appears to be the main source of PCB 11 in these systems, and this congener is likely to present a significant obstacle to achieving PCB water quality standards throughout the United States.

Discovery of non-aroclor PCB (3,3'-dichlorobiphenyl) in Chicago air

Air samples were collected in Chicago, Illinois in 2007, and 3,3'-dichlorobiphenyl (PCB11, CAS 2050-67-1) was detected and quantified using GC/MS/MS in 91% of 184 samples. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first published report of PCB11 in ambient air. This compound is ubiquitous in air throughout the city of Chicago. The annual mean concentration in air samples collected from November 2006 to November 2007 is 24 pg m(-3) (+/-24 pg m(-3) SD), although the seasonal variation is significant. The concentration of PCB11 is up to 15% of measured polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in air but only up to 0.16% of commercial Aroclor mixtures that were banned from production in the 1970s. PCB11 is associated with pigments, paints, and resins and has been reported to be a dominant congener among PCBs detected in the wastewater effluent from paint production. The wide distribution of PCB11 in Chicago air is consistent with volatilization of this compound from painted surfaces although the actual source of PCB11 is unknown.

Extensive biodegradation of polychlorinated biphenyls in Aroclor 1242 and electrical transformer fluid (Askarel) by natural strains of microorganisms indigenous to contaminated African systems

Evidence for substantial aerobic degradation of Aroclor 1242 and Askarel fluid by newly characterized bacterial strains belonging to the Enterobacter, Ralstonia and Pseudomonas genera is presented. The organisms exhibited degradative activity in terms of total PCB/Askarel degradation, degradation of individual congeners and diversity of congeners attacked. Maximal degradation by the various isolates of Askarel ranged from 69% to 86% whereas, Aroclor 1242, with the exception of Ralstonia sp. SA-4 (9.7%), was degraded by 37% to 91%. PCB analysis showed that at least 45 of the representative congeners in Aroclor 1242 were extensively transformed by benzoate-grown cells without the need for biphenyl as an inducer of the upper degradation pathway. In incubations with Aroclor 1242, no clear correlation was observed between percentage of congener transformed and the degree of chlorination, regardless of the presence or absence of biphenyl. Recovery of significant but nonstoichiometric amounts of chloride from the culture media showed partial dechlorination of congeners and suggested production of partial degradation products. Addition of biphenyl evidently enhanced dechlorination of the mixture by some isolates. With the exception of Ralstonia sp. SA-5, chloride released ranged from 24% to 60% in the presence of biphenyl versus 0.35% to 15% without biphenyl.