Effect of cadmium ion on biodegradation of decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-209) by Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Effects of heavy metals and metalloids on the biodegradation of organic contaminants

Heavy metals and metalloids (HMMs) inhibit the biodegradation of organic pollutants. The degree of inhibition depends not only on the concentration and bioavailability of HMMs but also on additional factors, such as environmental variables (e.g., inorganic components, organic matter, pH, and redox potential), the nature of the metals, and microbial species. Based on the degradation pattern and metal concentrations causing half biodegradation rate reductions (RC50s), the inhibition of biodegradation was: Hg2+, As2O3 > Cu2+, Cd2+, Pb2+, Cr3+ > Ni2+, Co2+ > Mn2+, Zn2+ > Fe3+. Four patterns were observed: inhibition increases with increasing metal concentration; low concentrations stimulate, while high concentrations inhibit; high concentrations inhibit less; and mild inhibition remains constant. In addition, metal ion mixtures have more complex inhibitory effects on the degradation of organic pollutants, which may be greater than, similar to, or less than that of individual HMMs. Finally, the inhibitory mechanism of HMMs on biodegradation is reviewed. HMMs generally have little impact on the biodegradation pathway of organic pollutants for bacterial strains. However, when pollutants are biodegraded by the community, HMMs may activate microbial populations harbouring different transformation pathways. HMMs can affect the biodegradation efficiency of organic pollutants by changing the surface properties of microbes, interfering with degradative enzymes, and interacting with general metabolism.

Responses of a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon-degrading bacterium, Paraburkholderia fungorum JT-M8, to Cd (II) under P-limited oligotrophic conditions

For the bioremediation of mixed-contamination sites, studies on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) degradation or Cd (II) tolerance in bacteria are commonly implemented in nutrient-rich media. In contrast, in the field, inocula usually encounter harsh oligotrophic habitats. In this study, the environmental strain Paraburkholderia fungorum JT-M8 was used to explore the overlooked Cd (II) defense mechanism during PAH dissipation under P-limited oligotrophic condition. The results showed that the growth and PAH degradation ability of JT-M8 under Cd (II) stress were correlated with phosphate contents and exhibited self-regulating properties. Phosphates mainly affected the Cd (II) content in solution, while the cellular distribution of Cd (II) depended on Cd (II) levels; Cd (II) was mainly located in the cytoplasm when exposed to less Cd (II), and vice versa. The unique Cd (II) detoxification pathways could be classified into three aspects: (i) Cd (II) ionic equilibrium and dose-response effects regulated by environmental matrices (phosphate contents); (ii) bacterial physiological self-regulation, e.g., cell surface-binding, protein secretion and active transport systems; and (iii) specific adaptive responses (flagellum aggregation). This study emphasizes the importance of considering culture conditions when assessing the metal tolerance and provides new insight into the bacterial detoxification process of complex PAH-Cd (II) pollutants.

A critical review on BDE-209: Source, distribution, influencing factors, toxicity, and degradation

As the most widely used polybrominated diphenyl ether, BDE-209 is commonly used in polymer-based commercial and household products. Due to its unique physicochemical properties, BDE-209 is ubiquitous in a variety of environmental compartments and can be exposed to organisms in various ways and cause toxic effects. The present review outlines the current state of knowledge on the occurrence of BDE-209 in the environment, influencing factors, toxicity, and degradation. BDE-209 has been detected in various environmental matrices including air, soil, water, and sediment. Additionally, environmental factors such as organic matter, total suspended particulate, hydrodynamic, wind, and temperature affecting BDE-209 are specifically discussed. Toxicity studies suggest BDE-209 may cause systemic toxic effects on living organisms, reproductive toxicity, embryo-fetal toxicity, genetic toxicity, endocrine toxicity, neurotoxicity, immunotoxicity, and developmental toxicity, or even be carcinogenic. BDE-209 has toxic effects on organisms mainly through epigenetic regulation and induction of oxidative stress. Evidence regarding the degradation of BDE-209, including biodegradation, photodegradation, Fenton degradation, zero-valent iron degradation, chemical oxidative degradation, and microwave radiation degradation is summarized. This review may contribute to assessing the environmental risks of BDE-209 to help develop rational management plans.

Comparative evaluation and prioritization of key influences on biodegradation of 2,2',4,4'-tetrabrominated diphenyl ether by bacterial isolate B. xenovorans LB400

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are a class of persistent organic pollutants being widely distributed and harmful to human health and wildlife, and the development of sustainable rehabilitation strategies including microbial degradation is of great concern. Although the increasing number of bacteria, especially the broad-spectrum and potent aerobes have been isolated for the efficient removal of PBDEs, the external influences and the corresponding influential mechanism on biodegradation are not fully understood yet. Given the wide-spectrum biodegradability of aerobic bacterial isolate, B. xenovorans LB400 for PBDEs, the dual impacts of many pivotal factors including pH, temperature, presence of dissolved organic matter (DOM) and cadmium ion etc. were comprehensively revealed on biodegradation of 2,2',4,4'-tetrabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-47). Due to the structural resemblance and stimulation of specific enzyme activity in bacteria, the biphenyl as substrates showed the greater capacity than non-aromatic compounds in improving biodegradation. The individual adaptation to neutrality and cultivation at about 30 °C was beneficial for biodegradation since the bacterial cellular viability and enzyme activity was mostly preserved. Although it was possibly good for the induction of hormesis and favorable to enhance the permeability or bioavailability of pollutant, the exceeding increase of Cd²⁺ or DOM may not give the profitable increase of biodegradation yet for the detrimental effect. For biodegradation, the mechanistic relationship that took account of the integrative correlation with the influential factors was artfully developed using partial least square (PLS) regression technique. Relative to the most significant influence of culture time and initial concentration of BDE-47, the larger relevance of other factors primarily marked as pH and DOM was consecutively shown after the quantitative prioritization. This may not only help understand the influential mechanism but provide a prioritizing regulation strategy for biodegradation of BDE-47. The PLS-derived relationship was validated with the certain predictability in biodegradation, and could be used as an alternative to accelerate a priori evaluation of suitability or improve the feasibility of such bacteria in remediation of PBDEs in the environment.

Mechanisms of flame retardant tris (2-ethylhexyl) phosphate biodegradation via novel bacterial strain Ochrobactrum tritici WX3-8

Tris (2-ethylhexyl) phosphate (TEHP) is a common organophosphorus flame retardant analog with considerable ecological toxicity. Here, novel strain Ochrobactrum tritici WX3-8 capable of degrading TEHP as the sole C source was isolated. Our results show that the strain's TEHP degradation efficiency reached 75% after 104 h under optimal conditions, i.e., 30 °C, pH 7, bacterial inoculum 3%, and Collapse

Key Words

• Biodegradation
• Metabolic pathway
• Ochrobactrum tritici
• Organic pollutants

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MESH Headings Collapse

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Affiliation(s)

Jiamei He College of Environment, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, 310032, China
Zeyu Wang Key Laboratory of Pollution Exposure and Health Intervention of Zhejiang Province, Interdisciplinary Research Academy, Zhejiang Shuren University, Hangzhou, 310015, China
Fengzhen Zhen College of Biological and Environmental Engineering, Zhejiang Shuren University, Hangzhou, 310015, China
Zhaoyun Wang College of Environment, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, 310032, China
Zhongdi Song Key Laboratory of Pollution Exposure and Health Intervention of Zhejiang Province, Interdisciplinary Research Academy, Zhejiang Shuren University, Hangzhou, 310015, China
Jun Chen Key Laboratory of Pollution Exposure and Health Intervention of Zhejiang Province, Interdisciplinary Research Academy, Zhejiang Shuren University, Hangzhou, 310015, China.
Dzmitry Hrynsphan Research Institute of Physical and Chemical Problems, Belarusian State University, Minsk, 220030, Belarus
Savitskaya Tatsiana Research Institute of Physical and Chemical Problems, Belarusian State University, Minsk, 220030, Belarus

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Aerobic Degradation Characteristics and Mechanism of Decabromodiphenyl Ether (BDE-209) Using Complex Bacteria Communities

Complex bacteria communities that comprised Brevibacillus sp. (M1) and Achromobacter sp. (M2) with effective abilities of degrading decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-209) were investigated for their degradation characteristics and mechanisms under aerobic conditions. The experimental results indicated that 88.4% of 10 mg L^-1 BDE-209 could be degraded after incubation for 120 h under the optimum conditions of pH 7.0, 30 °C and 15% of the inoculation volume, and the addition ratio of two bacterial suspensions was 1:1. Based on the identification of BDE-209 degradation products via liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis, the biodegradation pathway of BDE-209 was proposed. The debromination, hydroxylation, deprotonation, breakage of ether bonds and ring-opening processes were included in the degradation process. Furthermore, intracellular enzymes had the greatest contribution to BDE-209 biodegradation, and the inhibition of piperyl butoxide (PB) for BDE-209 degradation revealed that the cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzyme was likely the key enzyme during BDE-209 degradation by bacteria M (1+2). Our study provided alternative ideas for the microbial degradation of BDE-209 by aerobic complex bacteria communities in a water system.

Cadmium-tolerant bacteria: current trends and applications in agriculture

Cadmium (Cd) is considered a toxic heavy metal; nevertheless, its toxicity fluctuates for different organisms. Cadmium-tolerant bacteria (CdtB) are diverse and non-phylogenetically related. Because of their ecological importance these bacteria become particularly relevant when pollution occurs and where human health is impacted. The aim of this review is to show the significance, culturable diversity, metabolic detoxification mechanisms of CdtB and their current uses in several bioremediation processes applied to agricultural soils. Further discussion addressed the technological devices and the possible advantages of genetically modified CdtB for diagnostic purposes in the future.

Bioremediation perspectives and progress in petroleum pollution in the marine environment: a review

The marine environment is often affected by petroleum hydrocarbon pollution due to industrial activities and petroleum accidents. This pollution has recalcitrant and persistent compounds that pose a high risk to the ecological system and human health. For this reason, the world claims to seek to clean up these pollutants. Bioremediation is an attractive approach for removing petroleum pollution. It is considered a low-cost and highly effective approach with fewer side effects compared to chemical and physical techniques. This depends on the metabolic capability of microorganisms involved in the degradation of hydrocarbons through enzymatic reactions. Bioremediation activities mostly depend on environmental conditions such as temperature, pH, salinity, pressure, and nutrition availability. Understanding the effects of environmental conditions on microbial hydrocarbon degraders and microbial interactions with hydrocarbon compounds could be assessed for the successful degradation of petroleum pollution. The current review provides a critical view of petroleum pollution in seawater, the bioavailability of petroleum compounds, the contribution of microorganisms in petroleum degradation, and the mechanisms of degradation under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. We consider different biodegradation approaches such as biostimulation, bioaugmentation, and phytoremediation.

Aerobic degradation of decabrominated diphenyl ether through a novel bacterium isolated from municipal waste dumping site: Identification, degradation and metabolic pathway

In the present study, a novel bacterium capable of degrading BDE-209 aerobically was isolated from a municipal waste dumping site and identified as Bacillus tequilensis strain BDE-S1 through 16S rRNA gene sequencing. A correlation between BDE-209 and bromide concentration, COD, TOC, and cell biomass was established. 65% of 50 mg/L initial concentration of BDE-209 was degraded within eight days of incubation by BDE-S1 strain. Two hexa, two penta, one tetra-BDE congener, and benzamide were detected as metabolites. The bromide release, COD, TOC and cell biomass were found to be significantly correlated parameters with BDE-209 degradation. Based on the metabolite analysis, ortho and meta debromination, cleavage of diphenyl ether bond and ring-opening were suggested as possible degradation pathways. This is the first study demonstrating the use of indigenously isolated Bacillus tequilensis strain BDE-S1 for aerobic degradation of BDE-209, which could provide new comprehension for bioremediation of PBDEs from contaminated environments.

Current progress in degradation and removal methods of polybrominated diphenyl ethers from water and soil: A review

The widespread of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in the environment has caused rising concerns, and it is an urgent endeavor to find a proper way for PBDEs remediation. Various techniques such as adsorption, hydrothermal and thermal treatment, photolysis, photocatalytic degradation, reductive debromination, advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) and biological degradation have been developed for PBDEs decontamination. A comprehensive review of different PBDEs remediation techniques is urgently needed. This work focused on the environmental source and occurrence of PBDEs, their removal and degradation methods from water and soil, and prospects for PBDEs remediation techniques. According to the up-to-date literature obtained from Web of Science, it could be concluded that (i) photocatalysis and photocatalytic degradation is the most widely reported method for PBDEs remediation, (ii) BDE-47 and BDE-209 are the most investigated PBDE congeners, (iii) considering the recalcitrance nature of PBDEs and more toxic intermediates could be generated because of incomplete degradation, the combination of different techniques is the most potential solution for PBDEs removal, (iv) further researches about the development of novel and effective PBDEs remediation techniques are still needed. This review provides the latest knowledge on PBDEs remediation techniques, as well as future research needs according to the up-to-date literature.

Co-metabolic degradation of tetrabromobisphenol A by Pseudomonas aeruginosa and its auto-poisoning effect caused during degradation process

In this study, Pseudomonas aeruginosa was applied to degrade tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) with glucose as a co-metabolic substrate. Influencing factors of co-metabolic degradation such as pH, TBBPA and glucose concentration were examined and the degradation efficiency under optimal condition reached about 50% on the 7th day. The study also proved that the extracellular action, rather than intracellular one, played a leading role in TBBPA degradation. Five metabolites including debromination and beta-scission products were identified in this study. The extracellular active substance pyocyanin was considered as the origin of H₂O₂ and OH·. The variation of concentrations of H₂O₂ and OH· shared the same trend, they increased in the early days and then declined gradually. On the 1st day, the OD600 of P.aeruginosa in the co-metabolic group was 6.0 times higher than the initial value while total organic carbon (TOC) decreased about 78%, which might lead to the occurrence of pyocyanin auto-poisoning. Flow cytometry was applied to detect the cellular state of P.aeruginosa during degradation. The increasing intracellular ROS showed that cells were suffering from oxidative stress and the change of membrane potential revealed that cellular dysfunction had occurred since the 1st day. This research indicated that the toxic effect on P.aeruginosa was probably not directly correlated with TBBPA, but was caused by pyocyanin auto-poisoning.

Cellular changes of microbial consortium GY1 during decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-209) biodegradation and identification of strains responsible for BDE-209 degradation in GY1

Microbial consortium remediation has been considered to be a promising technique for BDE-209 elimination in water, soil and sediment. Herein, we studied malondialdehyde (MDA), membrane potential (MP), and reactive active species (ROS) of a microbial consortium GY1 exposed to BDE-209. The results indicated that the microbial antioxidant defense system was vulnerable by BDE-209. Both early and late apoptosis of microbial consortium induced by BDE-209 were observed. The sequencing results revealed that Stenotrophomonas, Microbacterium and Sphingobacterium in GY1 played major roles in BDE-209 degradation. Moreover, a novel facultative anaerobic BDE-209 degrading strain named Microbacterium Y2 was identified from GY1, by which approximately 56.1% of 1 mg/L BDE-209 was degraded within 7 days, and intracellular enzymes of which contributed great to the result. Overall, the current study provided new insights to deeply understand the mechanisms of BDE-209 degradation by microbial consortium.

Proteomic mechanism of decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-209) biodegradation by Microbacterium Y2 and its potential in remediation of BDE-209 contaminated water-sediment system

The investigation of BDE-209 degradation by Microbacterium Y2 under different condition was conducted. Cell membrane permeability, cell surface hydrophobicity (CSH), membrane potential (MP) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production were altered under BDE-209 stress. Eleven debrominated congeners were identified, suggesting that BDE-209 biodegradation by Microbacterium Y2 was dominantly a successive debromination process. Proteome analysis showed that the overexpression of haloacid dehalogenases, glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) and ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters might occupy important roles in BDE-209 biotransformation. Meanwhile, heat shock proteins (HSPs), ribonuclease E, oligoribonuclease (Orn) and ribosomal protein were activated to counter the BDE-209 toxicity. The up-regulated pyruvate dehydrogenase E1 component beta subunit and dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase suggested that the pyruvate metabolism pathway was activated. Bioaugmentation of BDE-209 polluted water-sediments system with Microbacterium Y2 could efficiently improve BDE-209 removal. The detection of total 16S rRNA genes in treatment system suggested that Microbacterium (25.6 %), Luteimonas (14.3 %), Methylovorus (12.6 %), Hyphomicrobium (9.2 %) were the dominant genera and PICRUSt results further revealed that the diminution of BDE-209 was owed to cooperation between the introduced bacteria and aboriginal ones.

New insights into the anaerobic microbial degradation of decabrominated diphenyl ether (BDE-209) in coastal marine sediments

Severe contamination of decabrominated diphenyl ether (BDE-209, an emerging persistent organic pollutant) in coastal marine sediments has posed a serious threat to the marine ecosystems. Anaerobic microbial degradation can affect the toxicity and environmental fate of BDE-209 in anoxic marine sediments. However, little is known about the anaerobic microbial degradation of BDE-209 in anoxic marine/coastal sediments. In this study, the anaerobic degradation of BDE-209 in microcosms containing coastal marine sediments from a contaminated bay located in Southern China was investigated. It was observed that over 70% of the BDE-209 (5 μmol) added to the anaerobic sediment microcosms disappeared after 90-day of incubation. Thirty-five debrominated products (tetra- to nonaBDEs) were identified by GC-MS. Remarkably, a majority of these products (i.e. 20 products, including BDE-52, -92, -101, -102, -103, -133, -144, -146, -150, -161, -171, -172, -175, -177, -178, -180, -182, -188, -193, -199) have not been previously reported in the literature on the anaerobic microbial degradation of BDE-209 in sediments. There was no preferential debromination among ortho-, meta-, and para-bromines on BDE-209 and higher-brominated diphenyl ethers were the predominant debromination products. High-throughput sequencing revealed that the relative abundances of 9 microbial genera in the sediment microcosms increased as the anaerobic degradation of BDE-209 progressed, indicating their involvements in the degradation process. Taken together, our findings provided new insights into the anaerobic microbial degradation of BDE-209 in anoxic marine sediments.

Biodegradation of tricresyl phosphate isomers by Brevibacillus brevis: Degradation pathway and metabolic mechanism

Tricresyl phosphates (TCPs), a typical sort of organophosphate flame retardants, has received extensive concerns due to its potential adverse effects. However, limited information is available on the efficient and safe removal methods of TCPs. In this regard, TCPs were tentatively biodegraded with Brevibacillus brevis. A probable degradation pathway was further proposed with the cellular reactions discussed in detail. Experiments showed that B. brevis at 2 g L^-1 could degrade 1 mg L^-1 tri-m-cresyl phosphate, tri-p-cresyl phosphate, and tri-o-cresyl phosphate by 82.91%, 93.91%, and 53.92%, respectively, within five days. In the process of biodegradation, B. brevis metabolism caused the release of Na⁺ and Cl^- as well as the absorption of some nutrient ions including K⁺, PO₄^3-, Mg²⁺, and SO₄^2-; the presence of oxalic acid, citric acid, acetic acid, and malonic acid was also detected. Similar metabolic pathways were found among different TCPs isomers, but tri-o-cresyl phosphate induced more reactive oxygen species than the other two did. This work develops novel insights into the potential mechanisms of TCPs biodegradation by microorganisms.

Vertical profile of soil/sediment pollution and microbial community change by e-waste recycling operation

The present study aims to assess the effect of electronic waste (e-waste) recycling on microbial community and the underlying modulation mechanism. Core soil/sediment samples were collected from an abandoned e-waste burning site and neighboring farmland/stream sites in Guiyu, China. High concentrations and health risks of toxic heavy metals, particularly, Sb and Sn, and halogenated flame retardants (HFRs), including decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE 209) and decabromodiphenyl ethane (DBDPE) were mostly retained at the top surface layers of soils/sediments (0-30cm) after more than one year of natural vertical diffusion and microbe-facilitated biodegradation. Heavy metals, such as Ag, Cd, Cu, Pb, Sb, and Sn, played a critical role for the reduction of microbial diversity. This is the first study reporting the open burning of e-waste caused an obvious heat effect and enriched thermophilic/mesophilic microbes in local area. The acid washing during e-waste recycling process may result in the enrichment of acidophilic microbes. This investigation showed that e-waste processing operation resulted in not only severe pollution of the soils/sediments by various pollutants, but also reduction of microbial diversity that was difficult to self-store by the local ecosystem.

Cell changes and differential proteomic analysis during biodegradation of decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-209) byPseudomonas aeruginosa

BDE-209 is a persistent organic pollutant. To promote microbial biodegradation of BDE-209 and gain further insight into its mechanism, cell changes and differential proteomic analysis ofP. aeruginosaduring biodegradation were studied.

Effects of rhamnolipids on the removal of 2,4,2,4-tetrabrominated biphenyl ether (BDE-47) by Phanerochaete chrysosporium analyzed with a combined approach of experiments and molecular docking

Effects of rhamnolipids on the removal of 2,4,2,4-tetrabrominated biphenyl ether (BDE-47) by Phanerochaete chrysosporium (P. chrysosporium) had been investigated, as well as the influence of carbon source (i.e. glucose). The results showed that the removal efficiency was over 90% in all treatments in 7 d. Rhamnolipids at low concentrations (0.05 and 0.1 CMC (critical micelle concentration)) could promote the removal of BDE-47, however, the inhibition effects occurred at high concentrations (0.5 and 1.0 CMC). The further study indicated that rhamnolipids at low concentrations not only promote the growth of mycelium, but also had obvious promotion on ligninolytic enzymes activity (i.e. manganese peroxidase (MnP), lignin peroxidase (LiP) and laccase (Lac)), especially for MnP and Lac. However, the opposite effect was generated at high rhamnolipids concentrations. Meanwhile, glucose played an active role for BDE-47 removal. For better understanding the degradation mechanism, the degradation product analysis and molecular docking had been introduced to this study. The degradation product analysis indicated that OH-PBDEs were the major degradation products and hydroxylation should be the important degradation pathway. The docking results showed that the ideal binding conformation occurred between ligninolytic enzymes and BDE-47, and hydrophobic interactions were the main interaction. Moreover, hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic interactions both existed in ligninolytic enzymes and rhamnolipids interaction. That might be the reason that rhamnolipids affected enzymes activity. These results indicated that P. chrysosporium might be a type of ideal microorganisms in the removal of BDE-47 pollution, and rhamnolipids could be a type of additives for better removal efficiency.

Cadmium-induced stress response of Phanerochaete chrysosporium during the biodegradation of 2,2',4,4'-tetrabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-47)

Cd-induced stress response of Phanerochaete chrysosporium during the biodegradation of BDE-47 was investigated in this study, with the goal of elucidating the tolerance behavior and the detoxification mechanisms of P. chrysosporium to resist the Cd stress in the course of BDE-47 biodegradation, which has implications for expanding the application of P. chrysosporium in the bioremediation of Cd and BDE-47 combined pollution. The results suggested that single BDE-47 exposure did not induce obvious oxidative stress in P. chrysosporium, but coexistent Cd significantly triggered ROS generation, both intracellular ROS level and H₂O₂ content showed positive correlation with Cd concentration. The activities of SOD and CAT were enhanced by low level of Cd (≤ 1 mg/L), but Cd of higher doses (＞1 mg/L) depressed the expression of these two antioxidant enzymes at the later exposure period (3-5 days). The intracellular content of GSH along with GSH/GSSG ratio also exhibited a bell-shaped response with a maximum value at Cd of 1 mg/L. Furthermore, Cd-induced ROS generation resulted in the lipid peroxidation, as indicated by a noticeable increment of MDA content found after 3 days. Moreover, the study also indicated that Cd less than 1 mg/L promoted the production of extracellular protein and quickened the decrease of pH value in the medium, while excessive Cd (＞1 mg/L) would lead to inhibition. These findings obtained demonstrated that P. chrysosporium had a certain degree of tolerance to Cd within a specific concentration range via regulating the antioxidant levels, inducing the synthesis of extracellular protein as well as stimulating the production of organic acids, and 1 mg/L is suggested to be the tolerance threshold of this strains under Cd stress during BDE-47 biodegradation.

Transformation of tetrabromobisphenol A by Rhodococcus jostii RHA1: Effects of heavy metals

Tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) is one of the most widely used brominated flame retardants in the world but it is also a pollutant of global concern. In the present study, we studied the transformation of ¹⁴C-labeled TBBPA by a polychlorinated-biphenyl-degrading bacterium, Rhodococcus jostii RHA1 (RHA1), under oxic conditions. During the 5-day incubation, TBBPA was biotransformed rapidly first to its monomethyl ether MeO-TBBPA and then to its more hydrophobic but less toxic dimethyl ether diMeO-TBBPA. The biotransformation followed pseudo-first-order decay kinetics, with a half-life of TBBPA of 0.32 days and only 0.6% of the initially added amount being mineralized. Considering the frequent co-occurrence of TBBPA with heavy metals in the natural environment, we also investigated the effects of three heavy metals (Cd, Cu, and Fe) on the transformation of TBBPA by strain RHA1. While TBBPA transformation was not significantly altered by Cd, it was accelerated by Cu and Fe, presumably due to the effects of these two essential metals on O-methyltransferase activity. Overall, the present study showed that RHA1 is an effective transformer of TBBPA and that certain essential metals, including Cu and Fe, promote the transformation.

Influence of co-existed tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) and hexavalent chromium on the cellular characteristics of Pycnoporus sanguineus during their removal and reduction

Simultaneous TBBPA removal and Cr(VI) reduction by Pycnoporus sanguineus together with the effect of these co-existed pollutants on the fungal cellular characteristics were investigated in this study, aiming at illuminating the mechanism involved in the interactions between contaminants and microbial cells. The results revealed that Cr(VI) reduction and TBBPA removal declined from 92.5%, 75.4-30.6%, 44.8% when Cr(VI) concentration increased from 5 to 40mg/L, respectively. The removal efficiencies for Cr(VI) and TBBPA reached 61.4% and 94% separately under the optimum concentration of TBBPA at 10mg/L. Subsequent analyses indicated that the negative effect of Cr(VI) of high concentrations on Cr(VI) reduction and TBBPA removal was mainly attributed to the inhibition of fungal growth, intracellular proteins synthesis, cell viability and ATP enzyme activity. Compared with the moderate impact of TBBPA, the cell membrane of P. sanguineus was impaired severely and the surface morphology and intracellular structure changed dramatically in the presence of high concentration of Cr(VI) (above 10mg/L). This study also suggested that high level of TBBPA (15 and 20mg/L) promoted the synthesis of intracellular proteins and improved ATP enzyme activity within the first 48h of the reaction for enhancing the transportation and transformation of TBBPA.

Biodegradation of 2,2',4,4'-tetrabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-47) by Phanerochaete chrysosporium in the presence of Cd2

Aerobic biodegradation of 2,2',4,4'-tetrabrominated diphenyl ether (BDE-47) by Phanerochaete chrysosporium in the presence of Cd²⁺ was investigated in this study. The results showed that P. chrysosporium could effectively degrade BDE-47, and its extracellular enzyme played an important role in the process of decomposition. BDE-47 biodegradation by fungi was more tolerant than extracellular enzyme in the presence of Cd²⁺. Also, both of the activity of two typical enzymes, MnP and LiP, descended with ascended Cd²⁺ concentration. Based on the four mono-hydroxylated PBDEs (5-OH-BDE-47, 4'-OH-BDE-17, 6-OH-BDE-47, and 2'-OH-BDE-28) and two bromophenols (2,4-DBP, 4-BP) detected, three possible degradation pathways were proposed, inferring that BDE-47 was more easily to transform via hydroxylation. With addition of Cd²⁺, the types of degradation products did not change, merely a variation of the content of these products observed. Meanwhile, the major metabolites of BDE-47, bromophenol compounds, have been found to be transformed or even mineralized by P. chrysosporium quickly, which also helped better explain why the amounts of BDE-47 decomposed did not match with that of the metabolites detected.

Effect of copper ion and soil humic acid on biodegradation of decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-209) by Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a good environmental microorganism capable of degrading decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE‐209). This paper studied the effect of Cu²⁺ and humic acid (HA) extracted from e‐waste contaminated soils on biodegradation of BDE‐209 by P. aeruginosa. The adsorption isotherms of Cu²⁺ on HA, the crude enzyme activity, cell surface morphology, and biodegradation pathway were also investigated. The results showed that BDE‐209 biodegradation by P. aeruginosa was inhibited at Cu²⁺ concentrations above 5 mg L⁻¹, but exhibited the best effect at the condition of 40 mg L⁻¹ Cu²⁺ + 3 g L⁻¹ HA. At the condition of 40 mg L⁻¹ Cu²⁺ + 3 g L⁻¹ HA, 97.35 ± 2.33% of the initial BDE‐209 was degraded after 5 days, debromination efficiency was 72.14 ± 1.89%, crude enzyme activity reached the maximum of 0.519 ± 0.022U g⁻¹ protein, cell surface of P. aeruginosa was smooth with normal short‐rod shapes, and biodegradation pathway mainly include debromination, hydroxylation, and cleavage of the diphenyl ether bond. It was suggested that soil HA could eliminate the toxic effect of high Cu²⁺ concentrations and biodegradation of BDE‐209 was improved by synergistic effect of HA and Cu²⁺.

Removal of metal and organic pollutants from wastewater by a sequential selective technique

In this study the application of a sequential selective system that combined biosorption with biodegradation was evaluated as a feasible process for the removal of Cr(VI) and m-cresol from effluents. Cr(VI) biosorption on pretreated chestnut shells showed 100% metal removal and modelling efforts demonstrated that the pseudo-second order kinetic model and Langmuir isotherm fit well the process behaviour. Thus, the treated stream was an appropriate environment for the biodegradation of m-cresol using a laccase-producer fungus, Phlebia radiata. Two bioreactor configurations, rotating drum and modified-airlift, were studied using the fungus grown on chestnut shells, which act as support-substrate as well as oxidative enzyme inductor increasing the laccase activity up to 1000UL(-1). The best bioreactor, rotating drum, reached 100% removal in 7days. Finally, the best configuration for the sequential selective system was modelled operating in continuous mode by the breakthrough curves generated using FASTv2.0 and the design bioreactor flow model.

Isolation and characterization of two novel psychrotrophic decabromodiphenyl ether-degrading bacteria from river sediments

Decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-209) is a brominated flame retardant and a priority contaminant. Currently, little information is available about its significance in the environment, specifically about its susceptibility to aerobic biotransformation at low temperature. In this work, five phylogenetically diverse BDE-209-degrading bacterial strains were isolated from river sediments of northern China. These strains were distributed among four different genera-Acinetobacter, Pseudomonas, Bacillus and Staphylococcus. All five isolates were capable of growing on BDE-209, among which two isolates show better growth. By detailed morphological, physiological, and biochemical characteristics and 16S rDNA sequence analysis, the two strains were identified and named as Staphylococcus haemolyticus LY1 and Bacillus pumilus LY2. The two bacteria can grow in mineral salt medium containing BDE-209 substrate across the temperatures ranging from 2.5 to 35 °C, with an optimum temperature of 25 °C which could be considered as psychrotrophs accordingly. The degradation experiment showed that more than 70.6 and 85.5 % of 0.5 mg/L BDE-209 were degraded and the highest mineralization efficiencies of 29.8 and 39.2 % were achieved for 0.5 mg/L BDE-209 by S. haemolyticus LY1 and B. pumilus LY2, respectively. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first demonstration for the biodegradation of BDE-209 by two psychrotrophic bacteria isolated from environment.

Aerobic degradation of BDE-209 by Enterococcus casseliflavus: Isolation, identification and cell changes during degradation process

Decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-209) is one of the most commonly used brominated flame retardants that have contaminated the environment worldwide. Microbial bioremediation has been considered as an effective technique to remove these sorts of persistent organic pollutants. Enterococcus casseliflavus, a gram-positive bacterium capable of aerobically transforming BDE-209, was isolated by our team from sediments in Guiyu, an e-waste dismantling area in Guangdong Province, China. To promote microbial bioremediation of BDE-209 and elucidate the mechanism behind its aerobic degradation, the effects of BDE-209 on the cell changes of E. casseliflavus were examined in this study. The experimental results demonstrated that the high cell surface hydrophobicity (CSH) of E. casseliflavus made the bacteria absorb hydrophobic BDE-209 more easily. E. casseliflavus responded to BDE-209 stress, resulting in an increase in cell membrane permeability and accumulation of BDE-209 inside the cell. The differential expression of intracellular protein was analyzed through two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE). More than 50 differentially expressed protein spots were reproducibly detected, including 25 up, and 25 down regulated after a 4 days exposure. Moreover, the apoptotic-like cell changes were observed during E. casseliflavus mediated degradation of BDE-209 by means of flow cytometry.

Simultaneous Cr(VI) removal and 2,2',4,4'-tetrabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-47) biodegradation by Pseudomonas aeruginosa in liquid medium

Simultaneous Cr(VI) removal and 2,2',4,4'-tetra brominated diphenyl ether (BDE-47) biodegradation by Pseudomonas aeruginosa in liquid medium were investigated in this study, with the goal of elucidating the interaction between concomitant pollutants Cr(VI) and BDE-47 during microbial remediation. The experimental results revealed that the degradation efficiency of 1 mg L(-1) BDE-47 by 60 mg L(-1) biomass achieved 51.3% within 7 d when 2 mg L(-1) Cr(VI) coexisted. The degradation efficiency was accelerated at low concentrations of Cr(VI) (≤5 mg L(-1)), but inhibited at higher levels (≥10 mg L(-1)). Cr(VI) of 2 mg L(-1) facilitated the secretion of rhamnolipid from the strain, altered cell surface hydrophobicity and cell membrane permeability, and promoted intracellular BDE-47 accumulation, thus improving BDE-47 biotransformation. In addition, the stimulation of intracellular enzyme synthesis by 2 mg L(-1) Cr(VI) contributed to more BDE-47 elimination in the cells. The achievement of BDE-47 biodegradation was coupled with cell growth, enzyme extraction, cell membrane permeability change, and ATPase activity increase. The study also indicated that the improvement of Cr(VI) removal in BDE-47/Cr(VI) co-contaminated condition was mostly due to the increasing synthesis of extracellular enzyme in the presence of low concentrations of BDE-47. The whole study demonstrated that P. aeruginosa was available for the removal of toxic Cr(VI) and degradation of BDE-47 simultaneously in the liquid.

Biosorption and degradation of decabromodiphenyl ether by Brevibacillus brevis and the influence of decabromodiphenyl ether on cellular metabolic responses

There is global concern about the effects of decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE209) on environmental and public health. The molecular properties, biosorption, degradation, accumulation, and cellular metabolic effects of BDE209 were investigated in this study to identify the mechanisms involved in the aerobic biodegradation of BDE209. BDE209 is initially absorbed by wall teichoic acid and N-acetylglucosamine side chains in peptidoglycan, and then, BDE209 is transported and debrominated through three pathways, giving tri-, hepta-, octa-, and nona-bromodiphenyl ethers. The C-C bond energies decrease as the number of bromine atoms on the diphenyl decreases. Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) inhibit protein expression or accelerate protein degradation and increase membrane permeability and the release of Cl(-), Na(+), NH4 (+), arabinose, proteins, acetic acid, and oxalic acid. However, PBDEs increase the amounts of K(+), Mg(2+), PO4 (3-), SO4 (2-), and NO3 (-) assimilated. The biosorption, degradation, accumulation, and removal efficiencies when Brevibacillus brevis (1 g L(-1)) was exposed to BDE209 (0.5 mg L(-1)) for 7 days were 7.4, 69.5, 16.3, and 94.6 %, respectively.

Metabolic biotransformation of copper-benzo[a]pyrene combined pollutant on the cellular interface of Stenotrophomonas maltophilia

Previous studies have confirmed that Stenotrophomonas maltophilia can bind an appreciable amount of Cu(II) and degrade BaP. However, the removal mechanisms of Cu(II) coexisted with BaP by S. maltophilia are still unclear. In this study, the micro-interaction of contaminants on the cellular surface was investigated. The results indicated that carboxyl groups played an important role in the binding of copper to the thallus and that the cell walls were the main adsorption sites. Nevertheless, these reactive groups had no obvious effect on the uptake of BaP. Instead, the disruption and modification of cell walls accelerated transportation of BaP across the membrane into cells. The observation of SEM-EDS confirmed that Cu(II) would be adsorbed and precipitated onto the cell surface but would also be removed by extracellular precipitation when BaP coexisted. And the XPS analysis reflected that part of Cu(II) bound onto biosorbents changed into Cu(I) and Cu.

Biodegradation of Decabromodiphenyl Ether (BDE-209) by Crude Enzyme Extract from Pseudomonas aeruginosa

The biodegradation effect and mechanism of decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-209) by crude enzyme extract from Pseudomonas aeruginosa were investigated. The results demonstrated that crude enzyme extract exhibited obviously higher degradation efficiency and shorter biodegradation time than Pseudomonas aeruginosa itself. Under the optimum conditions of pH 9.0, 35 °C and protein content of 2000 mg/L, 92.77% of the initial BDE-209 (20 mg/L) was degraded after 5 h. A BDE-209 biodegradation pathway was proposed on the basis of the biodegradation products identified by GC-MS analysis. The biodegradation mechanism showed that crude enzyme extract degraded BDE-209 into lower brominated PBDEs and OH-PBDEs through debromination and hydroxylation of the aromatic rings.

Biosorption and biodegradation of pyrene by Brevibacillus brevis and cellular responses to pyrene treatment

Biodegradation has been proposed as an effective approach to remove pyrene, however, the information regarding cellular responses to pyrene treatment is limited thus far. In this study, the biodegradation and biosorption of pyrene by Brevibacillus brevis, along with cellular responses caused by pollutant were investigated by means of flow cytometry assay and scanning electron microscopy. The experimental results showed that pyrene was initially adsorbed by B. brevis and subsequently transported and intracellularly degraded. During this process, pyrene removal was primarily dependent on biodegradation. Cell invagination and cell surface corrugation occurred due to pyrene exposure. Nevertheless, cell regrowth after 96h treatment was observed, and the proportion of necrotic cell was only 2.8% after pyrene exposure for 120h, confirming that B. brevis could utilize pyrene as a sole carbon source for growth. The removal and biodegradation amount of pyrene (1mg/L) at 168h were 0.75 and 0.69mg/L, respectively, and the biosorption amount by inactivated cells was 0.41mg/L at this time.

Bacterial communities associated with aerobic degradation of polybrominated diphenyl ethers from river sediments

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are persistent organic pollutants and have therefore drawn much environmental concern. We aimed to compare aerobic degradation of different PBDE congeners under various treatments and reveal the bacterial community associated with PBDE degradation in sediment. Results of this study indicate that degradation rates of BDE-15 were enhanced 45.1 and 81.3 % with the addition of suspended and microencapsulated Pseudomonas sp., respectively. However, the degradation rates of BDE-28, BDE-47, BDE-99, and BDE-100 did not differ among experimental treatments. Degradation rates of PBDE congeners were in the order of BDE-15 > BDE-28 > BDE-47 > BDE-99 > BDE-100. Using a pyrosequencing-based metagenomic approach, we found that addition of various treatments altered the microbial community composition in the sediment. Twenty-four bacterial genera associated with degradation of PBDEs; six are the core bacterial genera common among PBDE degraders. The diverse bacterial composition among different PBDE congener degradation indicates different combinations of bacteria involved in degradation of different PBDE congeners.

Effect of Pb2+, Cd2+, Cu2+ and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) on the distribution and partition of decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-209) in a water–sediment system

The combined pollution of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and heavy metals in electronic waste dismantling areas has received increasing concern in recent years.

Aflatoxin B₁ degradation by a Pseudomonas strain

Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), one of the most potent naturally occurring mutagens and carcinogens, causes significant threats to the food industry and animal production. In this study, 25 bacteria isolates were collected from grain kernels and soils displaying AFB1 reduction activity. Based on its degradation effectiveness, isolate N17-1 was selected for further characterization and identified as Pseudomonas aeruginosa. P. aeruginosa N17-1 could degrade AFB₁, AFB₂ and AFM₁ by 82.8%, 46.8% and 31.9% after incubation in Nutrient Broth (NB) medium at 37 °C for 72 h, respectively. The culture supernatant of isolate N17-1 degraded AFB₁ effectively, whereas the viable cells and intra cell extracts were far less effective. Factors influencing AFB1 degradation by the culture supernatant were investigated. Maximum degradation was observed at 55 °C. Ions Mn²⁺ and Cu²⁺ were activators for AFB1 degradation, however, ions Mg²⁺, Li⁺, Zn²⁺, Se²⁺, Fe³⁺ were strong inhibitors. Treatments with proteinase K and proteinase K plus SDS significantly reduced the degradation activity of the culture supernatant. No degradation products were observed based on preliminary LC-QTOF/MS analysis, indicating AFB₁ was metabolized to degradation products with chemical properties different from that of AFB₁. The results indicated that the degradation of AFB₁ by P. aeruginosa N17-1 was enzymatic and could have a great potential in industrial applications. This is the first report indicating that the isolate of P. aeruginosa possesses the ability to degrade aflatoxin.

Biosorption and biodegradation of triphenyltin by Stenotrophomonas maltophilia and their influence on cellular metabolism

Triphenyltin (TPT), an endocrine disruptor, is polluting the global environment through its worldwide use. However, information concerning the mechanisms of TPT biodegradation and cellular metabolism is severely limited. Therefore, these processes were elucidated through experiments involving TPT biosorption and degradation, intracellular metabolite analysis, nutrient use, ion and monosaccharide release, cellular membrane permeability and protein concentration quantification. The results verified that TPT was initially adsorbed by the cell surface of Stenotrophomonas maltophilia and was subsequently transported and degraded intracellularly with diphenyltin and monophenyltin production. Cl(-), Na(+), arabinose and glucose release, membrane permeability and the extracellular protein concentration increased during TPT treatment, whereas K(+) and PO4(3-) utilization and intracellular protein concentration declined. The biosorption, degradation and removal efficiencies of TPT at 0.5mgL(-1) by 0.3gL(-1) viable cells at 10 d were 3.8, 77.8 and 86.2%, respectively, and the adsorption efficiency by inactivated cells was 72.6%.

Triphenyltin biodegradation and intracellular material release by Brevibacillus brevis

Triphenyltin (TPT) is an endocrine disruptor that has polluted the global environment, and thus far, information regarding the mechanisms of TPT biodegradation and intracellular material release is limited. Here, TPT biodegradation was conducted by using Brevibacillus brevis. Degradation affecting factors, metabolite formation, ion and protein release, membrane permeability, and cell viability after degradation were investigated to reveal the biodegradation mechanisms. The results showed that TPT could be degraded simultaneously to diphenyltin and monophenyltin, with diphenyltin further degraded to monophenyltin, and ultimately to inorganic tin. During degradation process, B. brevis metabolically released Cl(-) and Na(+), and passively diffused Ca(2+). Protein release and membrane permeability were also enhanced by TPT exposure. pH ranging from 6.0 to 7.5 and relatively high biomass dosage in mineral salt medium improved TPT degradation. Biodegradation efficiency of 0.5 mg L(-1) TPT by 0.3 g L(-1)B. brevis at 25 °C for 5d was up to 80%.