Comparison of cometabolic degradation of 1,2-dichlorobenzene by Pseudomonas sp. and Staphylococcus xylosus

Aerobic Microbial Transformation of Fluorinated Liquid Crystal Monomer: New Pathways and Mechanism

Fluorinated liquid crystal monomers (FLCMs) have been suggested as emerging contaminants, raising global concern due to their frequent occurrence, potential toxic effects, and endurance capacity in the environment. However, the environmental fate of the FLCMs remains unknown. To fill this knowledge gap, we investigated the aerobic microbial transformation mechanisms of an important FLCM, 4-[difluoro(3,4,5-trifluorophenoxy)methyl]-3, 5-difluoro-4'-propylbiphenyl (DTMDPB), using an enrichment culture termed as BG1. Our findings revealed that 67.5 ± 2.1% of the initially added DTMDPB was transformed in 10 days under optimal conditions. A total of 14 microbial transformation products obtained due to a series of reactions (e.g., reductive defluorination, ether bond cleavage, demethylation, oxidative hydroxylation and aromatic ring opening, sulfonation, glucuronidation, O-methylation, and thiolation) were identified. Consortium BG1 harbored essential genes that could transform DTMDPB, such as dehalogenation-related genes [e.g., glutathione S-transferase gene (GST), 2-haloacid dehalogenase gene (2-HAD), nrdB, nuoC, and nuoD]; hydroxylating-related genes hcaC, ubiH, and COQ7; aromatic ring opening-related genes ligB and catE; and methyltransferase genes ubiE and ubiG. Two DTMDPB-degrading strains were isolated, which are affiliated with the genus Sphingopyxis and Agromyces. This study provides a novel insight into the microbial transformation of FLCMs. The findings of this study have important implications for the development of bioremediation strategies aimed at addressing sites contaminated with FLCMs.

A peroxidase coordinating to Zn (II) preventing heme bleaching and resistant to the interference of H2 O2

Dehaloperoxidase (DHP) catalyzes detoxifying halophenols. It is a heme-containing enzyme using H₂ O₂ as the oxidant. Heme bleaching from the active site is of great concern. In addition, the interference of DHP by H₂ O₂ leads to the inactivation of the enzyme. To solve these two problems, DHP is coordinated to Zn (II) in PBS buffer to form a biomineralized composite (DHP&Zn-CP). DHP&Zn-CP was characterized by measuring SEM and confocal images, as well as energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry mapping. Fluorescence spectra demonstrated that DHP&Zn-CP can prevent heme bleaching. Two-dimensional FTIR spectra were measured, dynamically providing insight into the structural change of DHP along the coordination process. Raman spectra were performed to analyze the structural change. The optical spectra confirmed that the forming of DHP&Zn-CP had a little effect on the structures of DHP. For the dehalogenation of 2,4,6-trichlorophenol, DHP&Zn-CP can tolerate the presence of H₂ O₂ and is resistant to the interference by H₂ O₂ . The catalytic efficiency of DHP&Zn-CP is much higher than that of free DHP.

Immobilized palladium-catalyzed electro-Fenton's degradation of chlorobenzene in groundwater

This study investigates the effect of palladium (Pd) form on the electrochemical degradation of chlorobenzene in groundwater by palladium-catalyzed electro-Fenton (EF) reaction. In batch and flow-through column reactors, EF was initiated via in-situ electrochemical formation of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) supported by Pd on alumina powder or by palladized polyacrylic acid (PAA) in a polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane (Pd-PVDF/PAA). In a mixed batch reactor containing 10 mg L-1 Fe2+, 2 g L-1 of catalyst in powder form (1% Pd, 20 mg L-1 of Pd) and an initial pH of 3, chlorobenzene was degraded under 120 mA current following a first-order decay rate showing 96% removal within 60 min. Under the same conditions, a rotating Pd-PVDF/PAA disk produced 88% of chlorobenzene degradation. In the column experiment with automatic pH adjustment, 71% of chlorobenzene was removed within 120 min with 10 mg L-1 Fe2+, and 2 g L-1 catalyst in pellet form (0.5% Pd, 10 mg L-1 of Pd) under 60 mA. The EF reaction can be achieved under flow, without external pH adjustment and H2O2 addition, and can be applied for in-situ groundwater treatment. Furthermore, the rotating PVDF-PAA membrane with immobilized Pd-catalyst showed an effective and low maintenance option for employing Pd catalyst for water treatment.

Cometabolic degradation of bisphenol A by pure culture of Ralstonia eutropha and metabolic pathway analysis

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a toxic compound emitting to the environment mainly by polycarbonate production facilities. In this research, BPA with the initial concentrations in the range of 1-40 mg l^-1 was degraded by Ralstonia eutropha. The bacteria were unable to use BPA as the sole carbon source. Therefore, resting and growing cells of phenol-adapted R. eutropha were used for cometabolic biodegradation of BPA with phenol at the concentration of 100 mg l^-1. The optimum initial concentrations of BPA were 20 mg l^-1 in both approaches of cometabolism. By using resting cells, BPA removal efficiency (RE) reached to 57%, however, RE decreased to 37% by growing cells in the presence of phenol. BPA-degrading activity was inhibited at BPA concentrations >20 mg l^-1. Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry technique was used to identify some metabolic intermediates generated during BPA degradation process as 1,2-bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)-2-propanol, 4-(2-propanol)-phenol, 4-hydroxyacetophenone, 4-isopropenylphenol, and 4-hydroxybenzoic acid. Finally, metabolic pathways for BPA degradation were proposed in this study.

Biodegradation of Diclofenac by the bacterial strain Labrys portucalensis F11

Diclofenac (DCF) is a widely used non-steroidal anti-inflammatory pharmaceutical which is detected in the environment at concentrations which can pose a threat to living organisms. In this study, biodegradation of DCF was assessed using the bacterial strain Labrys portucalensis F11. Biotransformation of 70% of DCF (1.7-34 μM), supplied as the sole carbon source, was achieved in 30 days. Complete degradation was reached via co-metabolism with acetate, over a period of 6 days for 1.7 µM and 25 days for 34 μM of DCF. The detection and identification of biodegradation intermediates was performed by UPLC-QTOF/MS/MS. The chemical structure of 12 metabolites is proposed. DCF degradation by strain F11 proceeds mainly by hydroxylation reactions; the formation of benzoquinone imine species seems to be a central step in the degradation pathway. Moreover, this is the first report that identified conjugated metabolites, resulting from sulfation reactions of DCF by bacteria. Stoichiometric liberation of chlorine and no detection of metabolites at the end of the experiments are strong indications of complete degradation of DCF by strain F11. To the best of our knowledge this is the first report that points to complete degradation of DCF by a single bacterial strain isolated from the environment.

Toxic effects of 1,4-dichlorobenzene on photosynthesis in Chlorella pyrenoidosa

1,4-Dichlorobenzene (1,4-DCB) is a common organic contaminant in water. To determine the effects of this contaminant on photosynthesis in the freshwater alga Chlorella pyrenoidosa, algal cells were treated with 1,4-DCB at different concentrations for various times, and their photosynthetic pigment contents and chlorophyll fluorescence traits were analyzed. The results showed that 1,4-DCB exerted toxic effects on photosynthesis in C. pyrenoidosa, especially at concentrations exceeding 10 mg/L. The inhibitory effects of 1,4-DCB were time- and concentration-dependent. After treatment with 1,4-DCB (≥10 mg/L), the contents of photosynthetic pigments decreased significantly, the photosystem II reaction center was irreversibly damaged, and the quantum yield of photosystem II decreased significantly. Also, there were sharp decreases in the efficiency of photosynthetic electron transport and energy conversion. Photosystem II became overloaded as the amount of excitation energy distributed to it increased. All of these events weakened the photochemical reaction, and ultimately led to serious inhibition of photosynthesis.

Total petroleum hydrocarbon degradation by hybrid electrobiochemical reactor in oilfield produced water

The crude oil drilling and extraction operations are aimed to maximize the production may be counterbalanced by the huge production of contaminated produced water (PW). PW is conventionally treated through different physical, chemical, and biological technologies. The efficiency of suggested hybrid electrobiochemical (EBC) methods for the simultaneous removal of total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) and sulfate from PW generated by petroleum industry is studied. Also, the factors that affect the stability of PW quality are investigated. The results indicated that the effect of biological treatment is very important to keep control of the electrochemical by-products and more TPH removal in the EBC system. The maximum TPH and sulfate removal efficiency was achieved 75% and 25.3%, respectively when the detention time was about 5.1min and the energy consumption was 32.6mA/cm(2). However, a slight increasing in total bacterial count was observed when the EBC compact unit worked at a flow rate of average 20L/h. Pseudo steady state was achieved after 30min of current application in the solution. Also, the results of the study indicate that when the current intensity was increased above optimum level, no significant results occurred due to the release of gases.

Identification and characterization of oxidative metabolites of 1-chloropyrene

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and chlorinated PAHs (ClPAHs) are ubiquitous contaminants that bind to the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) and exhibit mutagenic potential. It is difficult to monitor human exposure levels to ClPAHs because the exposure routes are complicated, and environmental concentrations are not always correlated with the levels of PAHs. Urinary PAH metabolites are useful biomarkers for evaluating PAH exposure, and ClPAH metabolites may therefore contribute to the estimation of ClPAH exposure. One of the most abundant ClPAHs present in the environment is 1-chloropyrene (ClPyr), and urinary ClPyr metabolites have the potential to be good biomarkers to evaluate the level of exposure to ClPAHs. Since the metabolic pathways involving ClPAHs are still undetermined, we investigated the effect of human cytochrome P450 enzymes on ClPyr and identified three oxidative metabolites by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance. We found that ClPyr was metabolized most efficiently by the P450 1A1 enzyme, followed by the 1B1 and 1A2 enzymes. Similar to ClPyr, these metabolites were shown to have agonist activity for the human AhR. We detected these metabolites when ClPyr reacted with a pooled human liver S9 fraction as well as in human urine samples. These results suggest that the metabolites may be used as biomarkers to evaluate the extent of exposure to ClPAHs.

Enantioselective biodegradation of fluoxetine by the bacterial strain Labrys portucalensis F11

Fluoxetine (FLX) is a chiral fluorinated pharmaceutical indicated mainly for the treatment of depression and is one of the most dispensed drugs in the world. There is clear evidence of environmental contamination with this drug and its active metabolite norfluoxetine (NFLX). In this study the enantioselective biodegradation of racemic FLX and of its enantiomers by Labrys portucalensis strain F11 was assessed. When 2μM of racemic FLX was supplemented as sole carbon source, complete removal of both enantiomers, with stoichiometric liberation of fluoride, was achieved in 30d. For racemic FLX concentration of 4 and 9μM, partial degradation of the enantiomers was obtained. In the presence of acetate as an additional carbon source, at 4, 9 and 21μM of racemic FLX and at 25μM of racemic FLX, (S)-FLX or (R)-FLX, complete degradation of the two enantiomers occurred. At higher concentrations of 45 and 89μM of racemic FLX, partial degradation was achieved. Preferential degradation of the (R)-enantiomer was observed in all experiments. To our knowledge, this is the first time that enantioselective biodegradation of FLX by a single bacterium is reported.

Co-metabolic biodegradation of acetamiprid by Pseudoxanthomonas sp. AAP-7 isolated from a long-term acetamiprid-polluted soil

An AAP-degrading bacterium, AAP-7, was isolated from AAP-polluted soil. AAP-7 was identified as Pseudoxanthomonas sp. on the basis of the comparative analysis of 16S rDNA sequences. The strain was able to transformate more than 80% AAP by means of co-metabolism and degraded AAP via hydrolysis or demethylation to form (E)-3-(((6-chloropyridin-3yl)methyl)(methyl)amino)acrylonitrile and N-((6-chloropyridin-3yl)methyl)-N-methylprop-1-en-2-amine, both of which transformed into ultimate product, which was 1-(6-chloropyridin-3yl)-N-methylmethanamine. A novel degradation pathway was proposed based on these metabolites. AAP could be transformed with a maximum specific degradation rate, half-saturation constant and inhibit constant of 1.775/36 h, 175.3 mg L(-1), and 396.5 mg L(-1), respectively, which proved that the degradation rate of AAP could be restrained at high AAP concentration. This paper highlights a significant potential use of co-metabolic cultures of microbial cells for the cleanup of AAP-contaminated soil.

Optimization of parameters for anaerobic co-metabolic degradation of TBBPA

The addition of different carbon and nitrogen sources can promote tetrabromobisphenol A degradation to varying degrees under co-metabolism process. A kinetic model was developed to evaluate the degradation efficiency using different carbon and nitrogen sources. Sodium formate was found to be the best carbon source for tetrabromobisphenol A degradation. The degradation rate reached 96.2% with a half-life of 4.1d. Nitrogen supplementation can also accelerate tetrabromobisphenol A degradation. Organic nitrogen is generally better than inorganic nitrogen. A response surface methodology based on the central composite design was applied to determine the optimum conditions. It showed that concentration of sodium formate, yeast extraction, tetrabromobisphenol A, and inoculum size of microorganism were important factors, and the interaction between either of two variables played different roles. Under the optimum conditions (sodium formate 11.5mg/L, yeast extraction 2.5mg/L, TBBPA 1.1mg/L and inoculum size 3.4%), TBBPA degradation rate reached the maximum.

Update on the cometabolism of organic pollutants by bacteria

Each year, tons of various types of molecules pollute our environment, and their elimination is one of the major challenges human kind is facing. Among the strategies to eliminate these pollutants is their biodegradation by microorganisms. However, many pollutants cannot be used efficiently as growth substrates by microorganisms. Biodegradation of such molecules by cometabolism has been reported, which is the ability of a microorganism to biodegrade a pollutant without using it as a growth-substrate (non-growth-substrate), while sustaining its own growth by assimilating a different substrate (growth-substrate). This approach has been used in the field of bioremediation, however, its potential has not been fully exploited yet. This review summarises the work carried out on the cometabolism of important recalcitrant pollutants, and presents strategies that can be used to improve ways of identifying microorganisms that can cometabolise such recalcitrant pollutants.

Biodegradation of industrial-strength 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid wastewaters in the presence of glucose in aerobic and anaerobic sequencing batch reactors

This research explored the biodegradability of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) in two laboratory-scale sequencing batch reactors (SBRs) that operated under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. The potential limit of 2,4-D degradation was investigated at a hydraulic retention time of 48 h, using glucose as a supplemental substrate and increasing feed concentrations of 2,4-D; namely 100 to 700 mg/L (i.e. industrial strength) for the aerobic system and 100 to 300 mg/L for the anaerobic SBR. The results revealed that 100 mg/L of 2,4-D was completely degraded following an acclimation period of 29 d (aerobic SBR) and 70 d (anaerobic SBR). The aerobic system achieved total 2,4-D removal at feed concentrations up to 600 mg/L which appeared to be a practical limit, since a further increase to 700 mg/L impaired glucose degradation while 2,4-D biodegradation was non-existent. In all cases, glucose was consumed before the onset of 2,4-D degradation. In the anaerobic SBR, 2,4-D degradation was limited to 120 mg/L.

Comparative studies on the degradation of three aromatic compounds by Pseudomonas sp. and Staphylococcus xylosus

Biological methods of wastewater treatment have been proved very effective for bioremediation of polluted sites. In this study, the degrading abilities of two bacteria Pseudomonas sp. and Staphylococcus xylosus, towards 1,2-dichlorobenzene (1,2-DCB), 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP) and 4-Cl-m-cresol, are compared. Culture history and the presence of glucose as carbon source have been used for the optimization of cell's performance. 1,2-DCB showed the higher values of effective concentration (EC(50)), 1.04 and 0.84 mM with Pseudomonas sp. and S. xylosus respectively, whereas no substrate-inhibition appeared, in contrary to 4-Cl-m-cresol, that was more persistent in biodegradation by both bacteria. 2,4-DCP was less assimilated compared to 1,2-DCB, whereas bacterial specificity was higher, as it was found by the estimation of the half-saturation constant of 0.36 and 0.26 mM with Pseudomonas sp. and S. xylosus, respectively.

Co-metabolism of 2,4-dichlorophenol and 4-Cl-m-cresol in the presence of glucose as an easily assimilated carbon source by Staphylococcus xylosus

Comparison of the ability of Staphylococcus xylosus to degrade 2,4-dichlorophenol and 4-Cl-m-cresol in separate cultures is reported. Bacterial adaptation and the continuous presence of glucose, as a conventional carbon source, were found to stimulate the degrading efficiency of S. xylosus. 4-Cl-m-cresol exhibited higher substrate-induced toxicity with K(ig) value at 0.25 mM, comparing to 2,4-dichlorophenol (K(ig) value at 0.90 mM) at initial concentration ranging from 0.1 to 0.5 mM. Degradation rate of 4-Cl-m-cresol was found to decrease only, revealing lower value of inhibition degradation constant (K(i) at 0.019 mM) comparing to that of 2,4-dichlorophenol (K(i) at 0.41 mM). Both glucose and each one of the chloro-aromatic compounds tested were simultaneously consumed and an increase of chloride ions in the medium appeared, during the exponential phase of growth. The chloride ions increase was nearly stoichiometric in the presence of 2,4-dichlorophenol and one of its several intermediate products identified was 2-Cl-maleylacetic acid. In the case of 4-Cl-m-cresol, only one metabolic product was found and identified as 3-methyl-4-oxo-pentanoic acid.

Co-metabolic degradation of bensulfuron-methyl in laboratory conditions

The present study deals with the degradation of bensulfuron-methyl by microorganisms cultured with different sources of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus. Addition of carbon source accelerated the degradation of bensulfuron-methyl under co-metabolism process. Sodium lactate was the best carbon source for the degradation of bensulfuron-methyl, compared to other carbon sources studied, and the degradation ratio of bensulfuron-methyl reached 79.5%, whereas only 34.6 and 29.7% were removed in the presence of glucose and sucrose, respectively. Supplement of nitrogen source also enhanced degradation of bensulfuron-methyl. However, no significant differences were observed in the loss of bensulfuron-methyl between organic nitrogen and inorganic source. Phosphate buffer was supplemented into the media to maintain neutral conditions for the advantage of the strain growth since increase in pH value was observed. An orthogonal array design was applied to arrange main factors singled out for investigating the influence of factor and interaction between them on the degradation of bensulfuron-methyl. Statistical analysis showed that the concentration of sodium lactate, bensulfuron-methyl and inoculum size were the main effects, and the interaction of sodium lactate and bensulfuron-methyl was of statistical significance.

Complete electrochemical dechlorination of chlorobenzenes in the presence of naphthalene mediator

Electrochemical dechlorination of chlorobenzene in organic solutions was studied. Electrolysis of chlorobenzene in acetonitrile solution in a one-compartment cell fitted with a platinum cathode and a zinc anode at 60mA/cm(2) and 0 degrees C was found to be the optimum conditions, which gave complete dechlorination of chlorobenzene. However, similar result could not be achieved when applying these conditions to 1,3-dichlorobenzene and 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene. We found that the use of naphthalene which reacted as a mediator in the appropriate system could accelerate the reduction and gave complete dechlorination of those chlorobenzenes. Moreover, in the presence of naphthalene the reaction time could be shortened by half compared to dechlorination in the absence of naphthalene.