Dechlorination and organohalide-respiring bacteria dynamics in sediment samples of the Yangtze Three Gorges Reservoir

• Published in: Environmental science and pollution research international Vol. 20; no. 10; pp. 7046 - 7056
• Main Authors: Kranzioch, Irene, Stoll, Claudia, Holbach, Andreas, Chen, Hao, Wang, Lijing, Zheng, Binghui, Norra, Stefan, Bi, Yonghong, Schramm, Karl-Werner, Tiehm, Andreas
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.10.2013; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Acids; Anaerobic conditions; Anaerobic microorganisms; analysis; Aquatic Pollution; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Bacteria; Bacteria - classification; Bacteria - isolation & purification; Bacteria - metabolism; Biodegradation, Environmental; Bioremediation; Canyons; Catchment areas; chemistry; China; Chlorine; Chlorobenzene; Chloroflexi; Chloroflexi - classification; Chloroflexi - isolation & purification; Chloroflexi - physiology; classification; community structure; Contaminated sediments; Dams; Dechlorination; Dehalobacter; Dehalococcoides; Desulfitobacterium; Desulfitobacterium - classification; Desulfitobacterium - isolation & purification; Desulfitobacterium - physiology; Desulfomonile; Desulfuromonas; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecotoxicology; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Health; Environmental science; Ethene; Geologic Sediments; Geologic Sediments - chemistry; Geologic Sediments - microbiology; Halogenation; isolation & purification; Laboratories; metabolism; microbial communities; microbiology; Pallets; PCB; physiology; Pollutants; Polychlorinated biphenyls; Polychlorinated Biphenyls - analysis; Polychlorinated Biphenyls - metabolism; Polymerase chain reaction; Processes and Environmental Quality in the Yangtze River System; Reservoirs; Rivers; Sediment samplers; Sediments; Studies; Tetrachloroethylene; Tetrachloroethylene - metabolism; Trace elements; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water Pollutants, Chemical; Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis; Water Pollutants, Chemical - metabolism; Water pollution; Water Pollution Control; watersheds; Yangtze River; China; China, People's Rep., Sichuan Prov., Changjiang R., Three Gorges Dam; China, People's Rep., Changjiang R; China, People's Rep., Sichuan Prov., Jialing R; Yangtze River; Yangtze; Tetrachloroethene; spp; qPCR; Reductive dechlorination
• ISSN: 0944-1344; 1614-7499; 1614-7499
• DOI: 10.1007/s11356-013-1545-9

Several groups of bacteria such as Dehalococcoides spp., Dehalobacter spp., Desulfomonile spp., Desulfuromonas spp., or Desulfitobacterium spp. are able to dehalogenate chlorinated pollutants such as chloroethenes, chlorobenzenes, or polychlorinated biphenyls under anaerobic conditions. In order to assess the dechlorination potential in Yangtze sediment samples, the presence and activity of the reductively dechlorinating bacteria were studied in anaerobic batch tests. Eighteen sediment samples were taken in the Three Gorges Reservoir catchment area of the Yangtze River, including the tributaries Jialing River, Daning River, and Xiangxi River. Polymerase chain reaction analysis indicated the presence of dechlorinating bacteria in most samples, with varying dechlorinating microbial community compositions at different sampling locations. Subsequently, anaerobic reductive dechlorination of tetrachloroethene (PCE) was tested after the addition of electron donors. Most cultures dechlorinated PCE completely to ethene via cis -dichloroethene ( cis -DCE) or trans -dichloroethene. Dehalogenating activity corresponded to increasing numbers of Dehalobacter spp., Desulfomonile spp., Desulfitobacterium spp., or Dehalococcoides spp. If no bacteria of the genus Dehalococcoides spp. were present in the sediment, reductive dechlorination stopped at cis -DCE. Our results demonstrate the presence of viable dechlorinating bacteria in Yangtze samples, indicating their relevance for pollutant turnover.