Microbial Degradation of Organic Contaminants in Streambed/Floodplain Sediments in Passaic River—New Jersey Area

This paper is intended to explore soil organic matter and carbon isotope fractionation at three locations of the Passaic River to determine if microbial degradation of organic contaminants in soil is correlated to the surrounding physical environment. Microbial degradation of organic contaminants is important for the detoxification of toxic substances thereby minimizing stagnation in the environment and accumulating in the food chain. Since organic contaminants are not easily dissolved in water, they will penetrate sediment and end up enriching the adjacent soil. The hypothesis that we are testing is microbial activity and carbon isotope fractionation will be greater in preserved soils than urban soils. The reason why this is expected to be the case is the expectation of higher microbial activity in preserved environments due to less exposure to pollutants, better soil structure, higher organic matter content, and more favorable conditions for microbial growth. This is contrasted with urban soils, which are impacted by pollutants and disturbances, potentially inhibiting microbial activity. We wish to collect soil samples adjacent to the Passaic River at a pristine location, Great Swamp Wildlife Refuge, a suburban location, Goffle Brook Park, Hawthorne NJ, and an urban location, Paterson NJ. These soil samples will be weighed for soil organic matter (SOM) and weighed for isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) to test organic carbon isotopes. High SOM and δ13C depletion activity indicate microbial growth based on the characteristics of the soil horizon rather than the location of the soil sample which results in degradation of organic compounds.

Microbial PAH-Degradation in Soil: Degradation Pathways and Contributing Factors

Adverse effects on the environment and high persistence in the microbial degradation and environmental fate of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are motivating interest. Many soil microorganisms can degrade PAHs and use various metabolic pathways to do so. However, both the physio-chemical characteristics of compounds as well as the physical, chemical, and biological properties of soils can drastically influence the degradation capacity of naturally occurring microorganisms for field bioremediation. Modern biological techniques have been widely used to promote the efficiency of microbial PAH-degradation and make the biodegradation metabolic pathways more clear. In this review microbial degradation of PAHs in soil is discussed, with emphasis placed on the main degradation pathways and the environmental factors affecting biodegradation.

Microbial Degradation of Quinoline: Kinetics Study With Burkholderia picekttii

Objective To investigate the kinetics of quinoline biodegradation by Burkholderia pickttii, a Gram negative rod-shaped aerobe, isolated in our laboratory. Methods HPLC (Hewlett-Packard model 5050 with an UV detector) was used for the analysis of quinoline concentration. GC/MS method was used to identify the intermediate metabolites of quinoline degradation. Results The biodegradation of quinoline was inhibited by quinoline at a high concentration, and the degradation process could be described by the Haldane model. The kinetic parameters based on Haldane substrate inhibition were evaluated. The values were v = 0.44 h-1,Ks=166.7 mg/L, Ki= 650 mg/L, respectively. The quinoline concentration to avoid substrate inhibition was inferred theoretically and determined to be 329 mg/L. Conclusion The biodegradation of quinoline conforms to the Haldane inhibition model and the main intermediate metabolite of quinoline biodegradation is 2-hydroxy-quinoline.

Cometabolic microbial degradation of trichloroethylene in the presence of toluene

Trichloroethylene(TCE), a common groundwater pollutant, was cometabolized by microorganisms in the presence of toluene as a growth substrate. The effect of concentrations of toluene and TCE and temperature on biodegradation was discussed. Acclimated microorganisms degraded TCE after a lag period of 5 to 22 h depending on toluene concentrations. Approximately 60%, 90% and 64% of TCE were degraded at toluene to TCE concentration ratios of 23∶1, 115∶1 and 230∶1, respectively. At a TCE concentration of 1 46 μg/ml, 80% of TCE and 98 4% of toluene were removed. But less degradation of TCE and toluene was observed when TCE concentration was above 48 8 μg/ml. The lag time of TCE decreased and the TCE biodegradation rates increased with the increase of temperature.

Screening of a microbial consortium with efficient corn stover degradation ability at low temperature

To speed up the degradation of corn stover directly returned to soil at low temperature, the corn stover-degrading microbial consortium GF-20, acclimated to biological decomposition in the frigid region, was successfully constructed under a long-term limiting substrate. To evaluate its potential in accelerating the decomposition of un-pretreated corn stover, the decomposing property, fermentation dynamic and the microbial diversity were analyzed. GF-20 degraded corn stover by 32% after 15-day fermentation at 10℃. Peak activities of filter paperlyase（FPA）, β-glucosidases（CB）, endoglucanases（Cx）, and cellobiohydrolases（C1） were 1.15, 1.67, 1.73, and 1.42 U m L^–1, appearing at the 6th, 3rd, 11 th, and 9th d, respectively. The p H averaged at 6.73–8.42, and the optical density（OD） value peaked at 1.87 at the 120 h of the degradation process. Cellulase, hemicellulase and lignin in corn stover were persistently degraded by 44.85, 43.85 and 25.29% at the end of incubation. Result of denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis（DGGE） profiles demonstrated that GF-20 had a stable component structure under switching the temperature and p H. The composition of the GF-20 was also analyzed by constructing bacterial 16 S r DNA clone library and fungal 18 Sr DNA-PCR-DGGE. Twenty-two bacterial clones and four fungal bands were detected and identified dominant bacteria represented by Cellvibrio mixtus subsp., Azospira oryzae, Arcobacter defluyii, and Clostridium populeti and the fungi were mainly identified as related to Trichosporon sp.

Review on microbial degradation of zearalenone and aflatoxins

The widespread contamination by mycotoxins,especially zearalenone and aflatoxins,in crops and their by-products has caused severe undesirable effects on human health and commercial trade.Researchers had screened out microorganisms from various media for degrading zearalenone and aflatoxins,and the results of a lot of studies showed that enzymes derived from microbial strains play a key role in degrading mycotoxins.Genetic engineering technology had been applied to improve the heterologously expressed degrading enzymes in several mature microbial hosts such as Escherichia coli and Pichia pastoris.The separated and purified recombinant enzyme had high activity in degrading mycotoxins in vitro.This review summarized the types of mycotoxins-degrading microorganisms and enzymes,and the progress on synthesis of heterologously expressed degrading enzymes by genetic engineering technology as well as related researches on improving the effect of degrading enzymes.We also prospected the future development in the study of using recombinant enzymes formed by genetic engineering technology to realize the simultaneous degradation of multiple mycotoxins in crops.

Responses of soil inhabiting nitrogen-cycling microbial communities to wetland degradation on the Zoige Plateau,China

The wetlands on the Zoige Plateau have experienced serious degradation,with most of the original marsh being converted to marsh meadow or meadow.Based on the 3 wetland degradation stages,we determined the effects of wetland degradation on the structure and relative abundance of nitrogencycling(nitrogen-fixing,ammonia-oxidizing,and denitrifying) microbial communities in 3 soil types(intact wetland:marsh soil;early degrading wetland:marsh meadow soil;and degraded wetland:meadow soil) using 454-pyrosequencing.The structure and relative abundance of nitrogen-cycling microbial communities differed in the 3 soil types.Proteobacteria was the predominant phylum in most soil samples but the most abundant soil nitrogenfixing and denitrifying microbial bacteria differed at the class,order,family,and genus levels among the 3soil types.At the genus level,the majority of nitrogenfixing bacterium sequences related to Bradyrhizobium were from marsh and marsh meadow soils;whereas those related to Geobacter originated from meadow soil.The majority of ammonia-oxidizing bacterium sequences related to Nitrosospira were from marsh(except for the 40-60 cm layer),marsh meadow and meadow soils;whereas those related to Candidatus Solibacter originated from 40-60 cm layer of marsh soil.The majority of denitrifying bacterium sequences related to Candidatus Solibacter and Anaeromyxobacter were from marsh and meadow soils;whereas those related to Herbaspirillum originated from meadow soil.The distribution of operational taxonomic units(OTUs)and species were correlated with soil type based upon Venn and Principal Coordinates Analysis(PCoA).Changes in soil type,caused by different water regimes were the most important factors influencing compositional changes in the nitrogen-fixing,ammonia-oxidizing,and denitrifying microbial communities.

Lindane Degradation and Effects on Soil Microbial Activity

The degradation of U-14C-lindane in two Egyptian soils was determined in a three-month laboratory incubation. Lindane mineralization was slow and limited in both soils. Evolution of 14CO2 increased with time but only reached 3. 5 to 5. 5 % of the initial 14C-concentration within 90 days. At that time both soils contained about 88 % of the applied radiocarbon; 33 % to 37% of the initial dose was unextractable and assumed bound to the soils. The methanol-ex-tractable 14C primarily contained lindane with traces of minor metabolites. Radiorespirometry was used to eva1uate the effect of lindane on soil microbial activity. Low concentrations of the insecticide initially supressed 14CO2 evolution from U-14C-glucose and microbial activity was significantly inhibited by 10 mg lindane/kg soil.

Microbial degradation and its influence on components of coalbed gases in Enhong syncline, China

Coalbed gases (CBG) in Enhong syncline are characterized by high concentration of C2+ (C2-5 ), with the highest content of ethane over 30%. However, the concentrations of C2+ are not evenly distributed in the syncline. Based on the analysis of δ13C1 , δ13C2 , δ13C3 , δ13CO2 , δDCH4 of CBG and their origin diagrams in the normal and abnormal areas, this research shows that gases in both areas are thermogenic gases and the reason for the uneven distribution of C2+ is that the microbial degradation action on gases is stronger in the normal area than in the abnormal area. The secondary biologic gases in the normal area are mainly characterized by that the carbon isotopes become obviously lighter in methane and become heavier in ethane, whereas the molecular and isotopic compositions of CO2 change little. These features indicate that the secondary biologic gases are mainly generated by the microbial degradation of C2+ , not generated by the reduction of CO2 . The degradation process is selective to make the residual ethane being enriched in 13C and the generated methane rich in 12C.

Linkages between soil microbial stability and carbon storage in the active layer under permafrost degradation

The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau(QTP)distributes the largest extent of high-altitude mountain permafrost in the world(Zou et al.,2017),which has different characteristics from high-latitude permafrost(Yang et al.,2010)and stores massive soil carbon.

Isolation and in-situ bioremediation of halophile oil degradation bacteria

Crude oil exploration has resulted in alarming pollution. It is thereforenecessary to isolate native bacterial strains for contaminated crude oil bioremediation.In this study, three bacteria strains were isolated from the Dagang Oil Field, Tianjing,China, which belonged to the genera Pseudomonas sp. and Bacillus sp., as determinedby 16S rRNA genera sequence similarity analysis. The optimum degradation conditionsof the three bacteria were studied by single factor experiment, and they were 30 °C, 7.2pH, and 3% salinity, 35 °C, 7.5 pH, and 3% salinity, and 37 °C, 7.5 pH, and 5% salinity,respectively. The results showed that the oil degradation rate was the best when theproportion of the different strains was 2:1:2. Moreover, the most effective treatmentconditions were found by orthogonal test to be 10% inoculum, 0.2% oil content, 7.0 pH,3:1 N:P, 3.5% salinity, and 35 °C, the oil degradation rate reached 71.03% under thiscondition.

Biodegradation pathway and mechanism of tri (2-chloropropyl) phosphate by Providencia rettgeri

Tri(2-chloropropyl)phosphate(TCPP)was an emerging contaminant of global concern because of its frequent occurrence,potential toxic effects,and persistence in the environment.Microbial degradation might be an efficient and safe removal method,but limited information was available.In this study,Providencia rettgeri was isolated from contaminated sediment and showed it could use TCPP as unique phosphorus source to promote growth,and decompose 34.7%of TCPP(1 mg/L)within 5 days.The microbial inoculation and the initial concentration of TCPP could affect the biodegradation efficient.Further study results indicated that TCPP decomposition by Providencia rettgeri was mainly via phosphoester bond hydrolysis,evidenced by the production of bis(2-chloropropyl)phosphate(C_(6)H_(13)Cl_(2)PO_(4))and mono-chloropropyl phosphate(C_(3)H_(8)ClPO_(4)).Both intracellular and extracellular enzymes could degrade TCPP,but intracellular degradation was dominant in the later reaction stage,and the presence of Cu^(2+) ions had a promoting effect.These findings developed novel insights into the potential mechanism of TCPP microbial degradation.

Removal of Pyrene from Contaminated Soils by White Clover

Phytoremediation has been used as an emerging technology for remediation of soil contamination with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons(PAHs),ubiquitous persistent environmental pollutants derived from natural and anthropogenic processes,in the last decade.In this study,a pot experiment was conducted to investigate the potential of phytoremediation of pyrene from spiked soils planted with white clover(Trifolium repens)in the greenhouse with a series of pyrene concentrations ranging from 4.22 to 365.38 mg kg-1.The results showed that growth of white clover on pyrenecontaminated soils was not affected.The removal of pyrene from the spiked soils planted with white clover was obviously higher than that from the unplanted soils.At the end of the experiment(60 d),the average removal ratio of pyrene in the spiked soils with white clover was 77%,which was 31%and 57%higher than those of the controls with or without micobes, respectively.Both roots and shoots of white clover took up pyrene from the spiked soils and pyrene uptake increased with the soil pyrene concentration.However,the plant-enhanced dissipation of soil pyrene may be the result of plant-promoted microbial degradation and direct uptake and accumulation of pyrene by white clover were only a small part of the pyrene dissipation.Bioconcentration factors of pyrene(BCFs,ratio of pyrene,on a dry weight basis,in the plant to that in the soil)tended to decrease with increase in the residual soil pyrene concentration.Therefore,removal of pyrene in the contaminated soils was feasible using white clove.

Optimization and Characterization of Nicosulfuron-Degrading Enzyme from Bacillus subtilis Strain YB1

A strain of Bacillus subtilis strain YB 1, isolated and preserved in our lab., showed a high nicosulfuron-degrading activity. Optimization of culture conditions on production of nicosulfuron-degrading enzyme from Bacillus subtilis strain YB 1 was carried out through mono-factor experiments. The characterization of degrading enzyme（s） was studied in this paper. The results showed that B. subtilis YB1 can use nicosulfuron as sole carbon source under aerobic condition. The key enzyme（s） involved in the initial biodegradation of nicosulfuron was localized to extracellular proteins and showed to be induced expressed. Enzyme-specific activity was up to 89.34 U mg-1 at pH 8.0 and 30℃, incubation for 96 h, inoculum 4.5x108 CFU mL-1 in Luria-Bertani liquid medium with nicosulfuron of 40 mg L-1. The maximum degradation rate of extracellular crude enzymes on nicosulfuron was 66% at pH 9.0, 35℃ in the enzymatic reaction system with nicosulfuron of 5 mg L-1. This degrading enzyme（s） was sensitive to high temperature, but kept high activity under alkaline conditions.

Effect of rhizosphere on soil microbial community and in-situ pyrene biodegradation

To access the influence of a vegetation on soil microorganisms toward organic pollutant biogegration,this study examined the rhizospheric effects of four plant species(sudan grass,white clover,alfalfa,and fescue)on the soil microbial community and in-situ pyrene(PYR)biodegradation.The results indicated that the spiked PYR levels in soils decreased substantially compared to the control soil without planting.With equal planted densities,the efficiencies of PYR degradation in rhizosphere with sudan grass,white clover,alfalfa and fescue were 34.0%,28.4%,27.7%,and 9.9%,respectively.However,on the basis of equal root biomass the efficiencies were in order of white clover..alfalfa.sudan.fescue.The increased PYR biodegradation was attributed to the enhanced bacterial population and activity induced by plant roots in the rhizosphere.Soil microbial species and biomasses were elucidated in terms of microbial phospholipid ester-linked fatty acid(PLFA)biomarkers.The principal component analysis(PCA)revealed significant changes in PLFA pattern in planted and non-planted soils spiked with PYR.Total PLFAs in planted soils were all higher than those in non-planted soils.PLFA assemblages indicated that bacteria were the primary PYR degrading microorganisms,and that Gram-positive bacteria exhibited higher tolerance to PYR than Gram-negative bacteria did.

“Waste”-ing away:Presence of Cu ions influences microbial degradation kinetics and metabolite formation of the prevalent brominated flame retardant BDE-47

Have you ever wondered what happened to that old cell phone you threw out last month?How about the 150 million other cell phones that were also disposed of in the past year?Although the world population has doubled in the past 50 years,global consumption of electronic devices has increased six fold(Belkhir and Elmeligi,2018)with nearly 45 million tonnes of electronic waste(e-waste)being produced in 2016 alone(Balde et al.,2017).That equates to 6.1 kg of e-waste per person across the globe and is equivalent in weight to over four thousand Eiffel towers(Balde et al.,2017)!

Fluorescence characterization and microbial degradation of dissolved organic matter leached from salt marsh plants in the Yellow River Delta

Aims Salt marsh vegetation is an important contributor of dissolved organic matter(DOM)to coastal waters.The dynamics of DOM leaching from different marsh plants,however,have not been well studied or compared.Methods In this study,we conducted laboratory experiments to investigate the processes of DOM leaching from three common marsh plants(Phragmites australis,Suaeda salsa and Aeluropus littoralis)collected from the Yellow River Delta(YRD)salt marsh in October 2016.The YRD is one of the largest and most well-protected coastal ecosystems on the east coast of China.Important Findings We found that the plant leaves released DOM at much higher concentrations than the plant roots or stems,as measured by the dissolved organic carbon(DOC)and dissolved nitrogen(DN).On average,15%of the biomass C and 30%of the biomass N were released from the plant leaves as DOC and DN during the 27-day incubation period.The DOM released from the plants was very labile,and 92.4%-98.1%of the DOC and 88.0%-94.6%of the DN released from the plants were consumed by bacteria during the 27-day incubation period.The fluorescence characteristics of the plant-released DOM indicated that chromophoric dissolved organic matter was a major fraction of the DOM and that protein-like components were the primary organic fractions released from the plants.Bacterial degradation altered both the fluorescence properties and the chemical composition of the DOM.The results of the laboratory experiments were well supported by the field investigation,which indicated that a large amount of DOM was outwelled from the YRD salt marshes in late autumn.Our study suggests that the DOM released from the biomass of salt marsh plants provides an important source of both DOC and DN for marsh and coastal waters.The highly labile DOC and DN provide essential food sources to support microbial communities in the YRD salt marsh and adjacent coastal waters.

Study on nitrile-degrading microorganisms

Two strains of bacteria were isolated from nitrile polluted soils, and identified as Corynebacterium boffmanii and Arthrobacter flavescens. Acetonitrile, propionitrile, butyronitrile and acrylonitrile were degraded by these bacteria to yield corresponding amides, carboxylic acids and ammonia. The nitrile-degrading abilities of these strains were investigated. The removal rates for the nitrile were nearly 100%, after these bacteria were grown in medium containing 10000 ppm of aceto-, propio-, or butyronitrile at 28 ℃ for 24h. When the reaction mkture consisting of 5000 ppm of above mentioned nitriles or acrylonitrile and 20g (dry cell) /L resting cells of the two strains in 0.06mol/L phosphate buffer (pH7.5) was incubated separately at 25 ℃ with moderate shaking for 15 or 45 min, the nitrile could be degraded completely. The optimum growth conditions for C.hoffmanii and A.flavescens were studied as well.

Sorption, Transport and Transformation of Atrazine in Soils,Minerals and Composts: A Review

Atrazine is a widely used herbicide for controlling weeds on both agricultural and nonagricultural land,which is equally detected in water supplies beyond safe concentrations.Although the presence of atrazine metabolites is an indication of herbicide degradation,some of them still exhibit toxicity,greater water solubility and weaker interaction with soil components than atrazine.Hence,studies with atrazine in the environment are of interest because of its potential to contaminate drinking water sources.Data on atrazine availability for transport,plant uptake,and microbial degradation and mineralization are therefore required to perform more comprehensive and realistic environmental risk assessments of its environmental fate.This review presents an account of the sorption-desorption phenomenon of atrazine on soil and other sorbents by revisiting the several mechanisms of atrazine-sorbent binding reported in the literature.The retention and transport of atrazine in soils;the influence of organic matter on atrazine sorption;the interactions of atrazine with humic substances,atrazine uptake by plants,atrazine bioccumulation and microbial degradation;atrazine transformation in composting environments;and finally atrazine removal by biosorption are discussed.

Effectiveness of dicyandiamide as a nitrification inhibitor in biochar-amended soil

Overuse of nitrogen(N) fertilizers may lead to many environmental issues via N leaching into groundwater and agricultural runoff into surface water.Biochar, a sustainable soil amendment agent, has been widely studied because of its potential to retain moisture and nutrients. However, recent studies have shown that biochar has a very limited ability to improve the retention of negatively charged nitrite(NO2-) or nitrate(NO3-). Although positively charged ammonium(NH4+) can be better held by biochar, it is usually susceptible to nitrification and can be easily transformed into highly mobile NO2- and/or NO3-.In practice, dicyandiamide(DCD) has been used to inhibit nitrification, preserving N in its relatively immobile form as NH4+. Therefore, it is likely that the effects of DCD and biochar in soils would be synergistic. In this study, the influences of biochar on the effectiveness of DCD as a nitrification inhibitor in a biochar-amended soil were investigated by combining the experimental results of incubation, adsorption isotherm, and column transport with the simulated results of different mathematical models. Biochar was found to stimulate the degradation of DCD, as the maximum degradation rate slightly increased from 1.237 to 1.276 mg kg-1 d-1 but the half-saturation coefficient significantly increased from 5.766 to 9.834 mg kg-1. Considering the fact that the availability of DCD for nitrification inhibition was continuously decreasing because of its degradation, a novel model assuming non-competitive inhibition was developed to simulate nitrification in the presence of a decreasing amount of DCD. Depending on the environmental conditions, if the degradation of DCD and NH4+ in biochar-amended soil is not significant, improved contact due to the mitigated spatial separation between NH4+and DCD could possibly enhance the effectiveness of DCD.