Characterization of an enrichment culture debrominating tetrabromobisphenol A and optimization of its activity under anaerobic conditions

Abstract

Aim: To study the effects of incubation conditions on the microbial community structure and activity of a TBBPA‐debrominating enrichment culture composed of bacterial and archaeal species. Methods and Results: The effects of the methanogen inhibitor 2‐bromoethanesulfonate (BES), of the antibiotic ampicillin, of substrate (tetrabromobisphenol A, TBBPA) omission and availability of different electron donors on microbial community structure and activity were examined under anaerobic conditions. Debromination of TBBPA was blocked in the presence of ampicillin, while long‐term incubation with BES resulted in delayed debromination activity. The results suggest that the bacterial species responsible for the debromination of TBBPA, while archaeal species involved in electron donor metabolism. The enrichment culture lost its debromination activity after cultivation for 9 months without TBBPA, concomitantly with the disappearance of two DNA bands in a denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) analysis of 16S rRNA gene fragments corresponding to Pelobacter carbinolicus and Sphaerochaeta sp. TQ1 that were present in the original culture. When butyrate was used as an electron donor, TBBPA debromination activity was attenuated. When acetate was used as the electron donor, no debromination was observed and in addition, there was a decrease in the abundance of the mcrA gene. Conclusions: The results indicate that to maintain a high rate of TBBPA debromination activity, it is essential to preserve the microbial community structure (bacterial and archaeal members) of this culture and supply an electron donor that produces high amounts of hydrogen when fermented. Significance and Impact of the Study: The study provides important information for the management of cultures to be used in bioremediation of TBBPA contaminated sites.

The Spatial Distribution of the Microbial Community in a Contaminated Aquitard below an Industrial Zone

“…Five microbial genera commonly found in anoxic aquifers contaminated by halogenated compounds were found in the groundwater in all areas [49,50] (Table S6) [51]. Former studies in the Neot Hovav industrial area have also shown the presence of Desulfovibrio in stream sediment [52] and industrial wastewater, and of Dehalococcoides, Geobacter and Dehalobacter in groundwater [51,53]. Dehaloccocoides have been shown to reductively debrominate brominated diphenyl ethers, Tetrabromobisphenol A, and bromophenol blue [54].…”

“…Moreover, members of the community "supporting" the dehalogenating bacteria, e.g., species found in co-culture, co-metabolic, or other interactions with the organohalide respiring microorganisms, such as Spirochaeta, Pseudomonas, Pelobacter, Sedimentibacter and the candidate phyla OD1 are also found in the groundwater in relatively high abundances (Table S7) [52,60].…”

One-step process for debromination and aerobic mineralization of tetrabromobisphenol-A by a novel Ochrobactrum sp. T isolated from an e-waste recycling site

“…Thus, deeper knowledge on TBBPA toxicity assessment and fate in water environments, especially the half-lives in water and solid environments, are urgently needed. However, most studies investigated whether TBBPA can be debrominated under anaerobic conditions (Arbeli et al, 2006;Iasur-Kruh et al, 2010) or without further degradation in either under anaerobic or aerobic condition (Brenner et al, 2006). Some studies compared the anaerobic debromination of TBBPA with six other BRFs and found that TBBPA was the most difficult to be degraded (Nyholm et al, 2010).…”

Aerobic degradation of bisphenol-A and its derivatives in river sediment

“…[10] In another study, an enrichment culture capable of debrominating TBBPA was characterized and its activity under anaerobic conditions was optimized. [11] Previous research has demonstrated the participation of different bacterial species in the degradation of organic toxic chemicals, which could be explained by degradation mechanisms being related to the chemical structure and molecular weights of the toxic chemicals, the presence of the degradative microorganisms, and appropriate environmental conditions. [31] …”

“…[6] The application of BPA-degrading microorganisms has been observed in both pure and mixed cultures. [7][8][9][10][11] However, little is known about the effects of the ligninolytic enzymes on the degradation of BPAs in river sediment. * Corresponding author.…”