2,6-Dichlorobenzamide (BAM) herbicide mineralisation by Aminobacter sp. MSH1 during starvation depends on a subpopulation of intact cells maintaining vital membrane functions

Toward Improved Bioremediation Strategies: Response of BAM-Degradation Activity to Concentration and Flow Changes in an Inoculated Bench-Scale Sediment Tank

Compound-specific isotope analysis (CSIA) can reveal mass-transfer limitations during biodegradation of organic pollutants by enabling the detection of masked isotope fractionation. Here, we applied CSIA to monitor the adaptive response of bacterial degradation in inoculated sediment to low contaminant concentrations over time. We characterized Aminobacter sp. MSH1 activity in a flow-through sediment tank in response to a transient supply of elevated 2,6-dichlorobenzamide (BAM) concentrations as a priming strategy and took advantage of an inadvertent intermittence to investigate the effect of short-term flow fluctuations. Priming and flow fluctuations yielded improved biodegradation performance and increased biodegradation capacity, as evaluated from bacterial activity and residual concentration time series. However, changes in isotope ratios in space and over time evidenced that mass transfer became increasingly limiting for degradation of BAM at low concentrations under such stimulated conditions, and that activity decreased further due to bacterial adaptation at low BAM (μg/L) levels. Isotope ratios, in conjunction with residual substrate concentrations, therefore helped identifying underlying limitations of biodegradation in such a stimulated system, offering important insight for future optimization of remediation schemes.

Interspecies Interactions of the 2,6-Dichlorobenzamide Degrading Aminobacter sp. MSH1 with Resident Sand Filter Bacteria: Indications for Mutual Cooperative Interactions That Improve BAM Mineralization Activity

Bioaugmentation often involves an invasion process requiring the establishment and activity of a foreign microbe in the resident community of the target environment. Interactions with resident micro-organisms, either antagonistic or cooperative, are believed to impact invasion. However, few studies have examined the variability of interactions between an invader and resident species of its target environment, and none of them considered a bioremediation context. Aminobacter sp. MSH1 mineralizing the groundwater micropollutant 2,6-dichlorobenzamide (BAM), is proposed for bioaugmentation of sand filters used in drinking water production to avert BAM contamination. We examined the nature of the interactions between MSH1 and 13 sand filter resident bacteria in dual and triple species assemblies in sand microcosms. The residents affected MSH1-mediated BAM mineralization without always impacting MSH1 cell densities, indicating effects on cell physiology rather than on cell number. Exploitative competition explained most of the effects (70%), but indications of interference competition were also found. Two residents improved BAM mineralization in dual species assemblies, apparently in a mutual cooperation, and overruled negative effects by others in triple species systems. The results suggest that sand filter communities contain species that increase MSH1 fitness. This opens doors for assisting bioaugmentation through co-inoculation with "helper" bacteria originating from and adapted to the target environment.

Aminobacter sp. MSH1 Mineralizes the Groundwater Micropollutant 2,6-Dichlorobenzamide through a Unique Chlorobenzoate Catabolic Pathway

2,6-Dichlorobenzamide (BAM) is a major groundwater micropollutant posing problems for drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs) that depend on groundwater intake. Aminobacter sp. MSH1 uses BAM as the sole source of carbon, nitrogen, and energy and is considered a prime biocatalyst for groundwater bioremediation in DWTPs. Its use in bioremediation requires knowledge of its BAM-catabolic pathway, which is currently restricted to the amidase BbdA converting BAM into 2,6-dichlorobenzoic acid (2,6-DCBA) and the monooxygenase BbdD transforming 2,6-DCBA into 2,6-dichloro-3-hydroxybenzoic acid. Here, we show that the 2,6-DCBA catabolic pathway is unique and differs substantially from catabolism of other chlorobenzoates. BbdD catalyzes a second hydroxylation, forming 2,6-dichloro-3,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid. Subsequently, glutathione-dependent dehalogenases (BbdI and BbdE) catalyze the thiolytic removal of the first chlorine. The remaining chlorine is then removed hydrolytically by a dehalogenase of the α/β hydrolase superfamily (BbdC). BbdC is the first enzyme in that superfamily associated with dehalogenation of chlorinated aromatics and appears to represent a new subtype within the α/β hydrolase dehalogenases. The activity of BbdC yields a unique trihydroxylated aromatic intermediate for ring cleavage that is performed by an extradiol dioxygenase (BbdF) producing 2,4,6-trioxoheptanedioic acid, which is likely converted to Krebs cycle intermediates by BbdG.

Groundwater contamination with 2,6-dichlorobenzamide (BAM) and perspectives for its microbial removal

The pesticide metabolite 2,6-dichlorobenzamide (BAM) is very persistent in both soil and groundwater and has become one of the most frequently detected groundwater micropollutants. BAM is not removed by the physico-chemical treatment techniques currently used in drinking water treatment plants (DWTP); therefore, if concentrations exceed the legal threshold limit, it represents a sizeable problem for the stability and quality of drinking water production, especially in places that depend on groundwater for drinking water. Bioremediation is suggested as a valuable strategy for removing BAM from groundwater by deploying dedicated BAM-degrading bacteria in DWTP sand filters. Only a few bacterial strains with the capability to degrade BAM have been isolated, and of these, only three isolates belonging to the Aminobacter genus are able to mineralise BAM. Considerable effort has been made to elucidate degradation pathways, kinetics and degrader genes, and research has recently been presented on the application of strain Aminobacter sp. MSH1 for the purification of BAM-contaminated water. The aim of the present review was to provide insight into the issue of BAM contamination and to report on the current status and knowledge with regard to the application of microorganisms for purification of BAM-contaminated water resources. This paper discusses the prospects and challenges for bioaugmentation of DWTP sand filters with specific BAM-degrading bacteria and identifies relevant perspectives for future research.

Biocarriers Improve Bioaugmentation Efficiency of a Rapid Sand Filter for the Treatment of 2,6-Dichlorobenzamide-Contaminated Drinking Water

Aminobacter sp. MSH1 immobilized in an alginate matrix in porous stones was tested in a pilot system as an alternative inoculation strategy to the use of free suspended cells for biological removal of micropollutant concentrations of 2,6-dichlorobenzamide (BAM) in drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs). BAM removal rates and MSH1 cell numbers were recorded during operation and assessed with specific BAM degradation rates obtained in lab conditions using either freshly grown cells or starved cells to explain reactor performance. Both reactors inoculated with either suspended or immobilized cells showed immediate BAM removal under the threshold of 0.1 μg/L, but the duration of sufficient BAM removal was 2-fold (44 days) longer for immobilized cells. The longer sufficient BAM removal in case of immobilized cells compared to suspended cells was mainly explained by a lower initial loss of MSH1 cells at operational start due to volume replacement and shear. Overall loss of activity in the reactors though was due to starvation, and final removal rates did not differ between reactors inoculated with immobilized and suspended cells. Management of assimilable organic carbon, in addition to cell immobilization, appears crucial for guaranteeing long-term BAM degradation activity of MSH1 in DWTP units.

Surface Colonization and Activity of the 2,6-Dichlorobenzamide (BAM) Degrading Aminobacter sp. Strain MSH1 at Macro- and Micropollutant BAM Concentrations

Aminobacter sp. MSH1 uses the groundwater micropollutant 2,6-dichlorobenzamide (BAM) as a C and N source and is a potential catalyst for biotreatment of BAM-contaminated groundwater in filtration units of drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs). The oligotrophic environment of DWTPs including trace pollutant concentrations, and the high flow rates impose challenges for micropollutant biodegradation in DWTPs. To understand how trace BAM concentrations affect MSH1 surface colonization and BAM degrading activity, MSH1 was cultivated in flow channels fed continuously with BAM macro- and microconcentrations in a N- and C-limiting medium. At all BAM concentrations, MSH1 colonized the flow channel. BAM degradation efficiencies were concentration-dependent, ranging between 70 and 95%. Similarly, BAM concentration affected surface colonization, but at 100 μg/L BAM and lower, colonization was similar to that in systems without BAM, suggesting that assimilable organic carbon and nitrogen other than those supplied by BAM sustained colonization at BAM microconcentrations. Comparison of specific BAM degradation rates in flow channels and in cultures of suspended freshly grown cells indicated that starvation conditions in flow channels receiving BAM microconcentrations resulted into MSH1 biomasses with 10-100-times reduced BAM degrading activity and provided a kinetic model for predicting BAM degradation under continuous C and N starvation.

Identification of the Amidase BbdA That Initiates Biodegradation of the Groundwater Micropollutant 2,6-dichlorobenzamide (BAM) in Aminobacter sp. MSH1

2,6-dichlorobenzamide (BAM) is a recalcitrant groundwater micropollutant that poses a major problem for drinking water production in European countries. Aminobacter sp. MSH1 and related strains have the unique ability to mineralize BAM at micropollutant concentrations but no information exists on the genetics of BAM biodegradation. An amidase-BbdA-converting BAM to 2,6-dichlorobenzoic acid (DCBA) was purified from Aminobacter sp. MSH1. Heterologous expression of the corresponding bbdA gene and its absence in MSH1 mutants defective in BAM degradation, confirmed its BAM degrading function. BbdA shows low amino acid sequence identity with reported amidases and is encoded by an IncP1-β plasmid (pBAM1, 40.6 kb) that lacks several genes for conjugation. BbdA has a remarkably low KM for BAM (0.71 μM) and also shows activity against benzamide and ortho-chlorobenzamide (OBAM). Differential proteomics and transcriptional reporter analysis suggest the constitutive expression of bbdA in MSH1. Also in other BAM mineralizing Aminobacter sp. strains, bbdA and pBAM1 appear to be involved in BAM degradation. BbdA's high affinity for BAM and its constitutive expression are of interest for using strain MSH1 in treatment of groundwater containing micropollutant concentrations of BAM for drinking water production.

Using 2,6-dichlorobenzamide (BAM) degrading Aminobacter sp. MSH1 in flow through biofilters--initial adhesion and BAM degradation potentials

Micropollutants in groundwater are given significant attention by water companies and authorities due to an increasing awareness that they might be present even above the legal threshold values. As part of our investigations of the possibility to remove the common groundwater pollutant 2,6-dichlorobenzamide (BAM) by introducing the efficient BAM degrader Aminobacter sp. MSH1 into biologically active sand filters, we investigated if the strain adheres to filters containing various filter materials and if the initial adherence and subsequent degradation of BAM could be optimized. We found that most of the inoculated MSH1 cells adhered fast and that parameters like pH and ionic strength had only a minor influence on the adhesion despite huge influence on cell surface hydrophobicity. At the given growth protocol, the MSH1 strain apparently developed a subpopulation that had lost its ability to adhere to the filter materials, which was supported by attempted reinoculation of non-adhered cells. Analysis by quantitative PCR showed that most cells adhered in the top of the filters and that some of these were lost from the filters during initial operation, while insignificant losses occurred after 1 day of operation. The inoculated filters were found to degrade 2.7 μg/L BAM to below 0.1 μg/L at a 1.1-h residence time with insignificant formation of known degradation products. In conclusion, most filter materials and water types should be feasible for inoculation with the MSH1 strain, while more research into degradation at low concentrations and temperatures is needed before this technology is ready for use at actual waterworks.

Biotransformation of benzonitrile herbicides via the nitrile hydratase-amidase pathway in rhodococci

The aim of this work was to determine the ability of rhodococci to transform 3,5-dichloro-4-hydroxybenzonitrile (chloroxynil), 3,5-dibromo-4-hydroxybenzonitrile (bromoxynil), 3,5-diiodo-4-hydroxybenzonitrile (ioxynil) and 2,6-dichlorobenzonitrile (dichlobenil); to identify the products and determine their acute toxicities. Rhodococcus erythropolis A4 and Rhodococcus rhodochrous PA-34 converted benzonitrile herbicides into amides, but only the former strain was able to hydrolyze 2,6-dichlorobenzamide into 2,6-dichlorobenzoic acid, and produced also more of the carboxylic acids from the other herbicides compared to strain PA-34. Transformation of nitriles into amides decreased acute toxicities for chloroxynil and dichlobenil, but increased them for bromoxynil and ioxynil. The amides inhibited root growth in Lactuca sativa less than the nitriles but more than the acids. The conversion of the nitrile group may be the first step in the mineralization of benzonitrile herbicides but cannot be itself considered to be a detoxification.