Screening of a beta-cypermethrin-degrading bacterial strain Brevibacillus parabrevis BCP-09 and its biochemical degradation pathway

A novel beta-cypermethrin (Beta-CP)-degrading strain isolated from activated sludge was identified as Brevibacillus parabrevis BCP-09 based on its morphological and physio-biochemical characteristics, and 16S rRNA gene analysis. Strain BCP-09 could effectively degrade Beta-CP at pH 5.0-9.0, 20-40 °C, and 10-500 mg L^-1 Beta-CP. Under optimal conditions (pH 7.41, 38.9 °C, 30.9 mg L^-1 Beta-CP), 75.87% Beta-CP was degraded within 3 days. Beta-CP degradation (half-life, 33.45 h) and strain BCP-09 growth were respectively described using first-order-kinetic and logistic-kinetic models. Seven metabolites were detected by high-performance liquid chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry- methyl salicylate, catechol, phthalic acid, salicylic acid, 3-(2,2-dichlorovinyl)-2,2-dimethylcyclopropanecarboxylic acid, 3-phenoxybenzaldehyde, and 3-phenoxybenzoic acid (3-PBA). The major Beta-CP metabolite, 3-PBA was further degraded into phenol, benzoic acid, and 4-methylhexanoic acid. BCP-09 also degraded aromatic compounds such as phenol, catechol, and protocatechuic acid. Beta-CP appears to be mainly degraded into 3-PBA, which is continuously degraded into smaller benzene or chain compounds. Thus, strain BCP-09 could form a complete degradation system for Beta-CP and might be considered a promising strain for application in the bioremediation of environments and agricultural products polluted by Beta-CP.

Characteristics and proteomic analysis of pyrene degradation by Brevibacillus brevis in liquid medium

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are widely spread in various ecosystems and are of great concern due to their potential toxicity, mutagenicity and carcinogenicity. Bioremediation has been proposed as an effective approach to remove PAHs. In this study, the physiological responses and proteome of Brevibacillus brevis under exposure to pyrene, a four-ring compound from PAHs family, were investigated. The changes of cell viability of B. brevis were observed during the degradation of pyrene by means of flow cytometry. The results indicated that pyrene stimulated superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity from 93.9 to 100.6 U mg^-1 prot, whereas inhibited catalase (CAT) activity from 29.1 to 20.3 U mg^-1 prot. The main compositions of B. brevis changed during pyrene degradation, with the proportion of unsaturated fatty acids increased by 13.4%. In addition, we performed a proteomic approach (two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and MALDI-TOF/TOF-MS) in order to explore how B. brevis survived upon treatment with pyrene. It was showed that the expression of 13 proteins increased whereas 10 other decreased after pyrene-treatment. The differentially expressed proteins were identified and the results indicated that they were involved in multiple biological processes including energy metabolism, biosynthesis, transmembrane transport and oxidative stress. Overall, these findings offered a new insights into the cellular response strategy developed by B. brevis to overcome the pyrene stress.

Kinetic analysis and degradation pathway for m-dichlorobenzene removal by Brevibacillus agri DH-1 and its performance in a biotrickling filter

A strain, Brevibacillus agri DH-1, isolated from dry lands was used to remove m-dichlorobenzene. After 48h culturing, the concentrations of m-dichlorobenzene decreased from 26-130 to 7.87-28.87mg/L and dry cell weight for bacterial growth reached 52.43-75.05mg/L. The growth and degradation kinetics were analyzed by the fitting of Haldane-Andrews model and pseudo first-order model. A degradation pathway was proposed according to major intermediates (phenol), chloride ion variation, ring-opening enzyme activity, and high mineralization (0.47g_Cl-/g_{m-dichlorobenzene}, 0.65 g_co2/g_{m-dichlorobenzene}, 0.15 g_DCW/g_{m-dichlorobenzene}). In addition, the performance in a biotrickling filter (BTF) was evaluated through removal efficiency and pressure drop values with increasing inlet loading rate from 4.10 to 122.57g/m³/h at three empty bed residence time points (30s, 60s, and 90s). The results demonstrated that strain DH-1 possessed high removal efficiency and stable operation in a BTF.

Biodegradation of crude oil using an efficient microbial consortium in a simulated marine environment

Ochrobactrum sp. N1, Brevibacillus parabrevis N2, B. parabrevis N3 and B. parabrevis N4 were selected when preparing a mixed bacterial consortium based on the efficiency of crude oil utilization. A crude oil degradation rate of the N-series microbial consortium reached upwards of 79% at a temperature of 25 °C in a 3.0% NaCl solution in the shake flask trial. In the mesocosm experiment, a specially designed device was used to simulate the marine environment. The internal tank size was 1.5 m (L)×0.8 m (W)×0.7 m (H). The microbial growth conditions, nutrient utilization and environmental factors were thoroughly investigated. Over 51.1% of the crude oil was effectively removed from the simulated water body. The escalation process (from flask trials to the mesocosm experiment), which sought to represent removal under conditions more similar to the field, proved the high efficiency of using N-series bacteria in crude oil degradation.

[Analysis of microbial diversity of nitrifying bacteria by terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism]

We analyzed the microbial diversity and quantity of nitrifying bacteria in the enrichment reactor by Terminal Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (T_RFLP), a cultured-independent molecular technique. The result indicated that nitrobacteria enriched the best, and the diversity index decreased 62.80% compared with the initial data. Nitrobacteria were predominant in the reactor. Meanwhile, we studied the microbial diversity before and after adding Nitrobacteria into shrimp ponds, and analyzed several major bacterial species that existed stably in the pond. According to the analysis by T_RFLP program, species including Brevibacillus brevis, Microbacterium lactium, Azoarcus indigens and Bordetella holmesii were the dominant bacteria in the ponds.