Chlorinated biphenyl mineralization by individual populations and consortia of freshwater bacteria

Journal Article · Sun Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 1990 · Applied and Environmental Microbiology; (USA)

OSTI ID:6518532

Pettigrew, C A; Breen, A; Corcoran, C; Sayler, G S ^[1]

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1. Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville (USA)

Comparative studies were performed to investigate the contribution of microbial consortia, individual microbial populations, and specific plasmids to chlorinated biphenyl biodegradation among microbial communities from a polychlorinated biphenyl-contaminated freshwater environment. A bacterial consortium, designated LPS10, was shown to mineralize 4-chlorobiphenyl (4CB) and dehalogenate 4,4'-dichlorobiphenyl. The LPS10 consortium involved three isolates: Pseudomonas testosteroni (LPS10A), which mediated the breakdown of 4CB and 4,4'-dichlorobiphenyl to 4-chlorobenzoic acid; an isolate tentatively identified as an Arthrobacter sp. (LPS10B), which mediated 4-chlorobenzoic acid degradation; and Pseudomonas putida bv. A (LPS10C), whose role in the consortium has not been determined. None of these isolates contained detectable plasmids or sequences homologous to the 4CB-degradative plasmid pSS50. A freshwater isolate, designated LBS1C1, was found to harbor a 41-megadalton plasmid that was related to the 35-megadalton plasmid pSS50, and this isolate was shown to mineralize 4CB. In chemostat enrichments with biphenyl and 4CB as primary carbon sources, the LPS10 consortium was found to outcomplete bacterial populations harboring plasmids homologous to pSS50. These results demonstrate that an understanding of the biodegradative capacity of individual bacterial populations as well as interacting populations of bacteria must be considered in order to gain a better understanding of polychlorinated biphenyl biodegradation in the environment.

• OSTI ID: 6518532
• Journal Information: Applied and Environmental Microbiology; (USA), Journal Name: Applied and Environmental Microbiology; (USA) Vol. 56:7; ISSN 0099-2240; ISSN AEMID
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

560300* -- Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
AROMATICS
BACTERIA
BIODEGRADATION
CELL CONSTITUENTS
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CHLORINATED AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS
DECOMPOSITION
FRESH WATER
HALOGENATED AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
MICROORGANISMS
ORGANIC CHLORINE COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PLASMIDS
POLLUTION
PSEUDOMONAS
WATER
WATER POLLUTION