Microbial dynamics in oil-impacted prairie soil

A remote site in the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve (Osage County, OK) was contaminated with crude oil by a pipeline break in 1992. In 1996, the contaminated soil was bioremediated by blending with uncontaminated soil, prairie hay, buffalo manure, and commercial fertilizers, and spreading in a shallow layer over uncontaminated soil to create a landfarm. The landfarm was monitored for two years for aerobic and anaerobic bacteria, soil gases indicative of microbial activity, and for changes in the concentration of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH). Levels of hydrocarbon degraders and soil gas indicators of aerobic degradation were stimulated in the landfarm during the first warm season relative to uncontaminated prairie soil. However, these same indicators were less conclusive during the second warm season, indicating depletion of the more easily degradable hydrocarbons, although the landfarm still contained 6,800 mg/kg TPH on the average at the beginning of the second warm season. Methane formation and methanogen counts were clearly stimulated in the first warm season relative to uncontaminated prairie soil, in dicating that methanogenesis plays an important role in the mineralization of hydrocarbons even in these shallow soils.     

Effects of RAMEB on Bioremediation of Different Soils Contaminated with Hydrocarbons

The limiting factor of soil remediation is often the low accessibility of the pollutants.Laboratory experiments have been carried out to investigate the effect of the randomlymethylated cyclodextrin (RAMEB) on bioremediation of various types of soils spikedwith Diesel and transformer oil and also on actual site soils contaminated with poorlydegradable mazout. The contaminated soil in the aerobic solid phase microcosm-experiments was amended with nutrients and supplemented with different amounts of RAMEB. An integrated chemical-biological-ecotoxicological methodology was applied to follow the bioremediation. The laboratory study proved the bioremediation enhancing effect of RAMEB both on artificially contaminated soils and on actual site mazout contaminated soils. RAMEB activated soil microbes by improving the bioavailability of the contaminants and accelerating biodegradation. Efficacy of RAMEB was influenced both by contaminantand environment related factors, such as the type and concentration of the pollutinghydrocarbons and characteristics of the soil.     

Heavy Metals and Human Health: Possible Exposure Pathways and the Competition for Protein Binding Sites

Heavy metals enter the human body through the gastrointestinal tract, skin, or via inhalation. Toxic metals have proven to be a major threat to human health, mostly because of their ability to cause membrane and DNA damage, and to perturb protein function and enzyme activity. These metals disturb native proteins’ functions by binding to free thiols or other functional groups, catalyzing the oxidation of amino acid side chains, perturbing protein folding, and/or displacing essential metal ions in enzymes. The review shows the physiological and biochemical effects of selected toxic metals interactions with proteins and enzymes. As environmental contamination by heavy metals is one of the most significant global problems, some detoxification strategies are also mentioned.     

稠油降解菌的筛选及其生物表面活性剂的特性

添加稠油对土壤中土著微生物进行驯化, 分离出33株能以稠油为惟一碳源生长的细菌, 从中筛选出2株高效表面活性剂产生菌XJ1和SJ4, 9株高效稠油降解菌. XJ1和SJ4可将发酵液的表面张力由72.4 mN/m分别降到36.1 mN/m和36.2 mN/m;14 d摇瓶油降解率分别为35.89%和31.59%, 降解效率在各单菌中最高. 同时研究了发酵液中XJ1和SJ4的生长量与其生物表面活性剂产生情况之间的关系, 经红外光谱分析初步确定两种生物表面活性剂均为糖脂类化合物.     

土壤硒污染的生物修复技术

硒是一种较特殊的微量元素，人和动物缺硒和硒中毒之间的范围很窄，土壤硒污染能对当地的人和动物产生重大伤害。采用传统的土壤污染治理方法，成本高，效果差，而近年来兴起的生物修复技术是治理土壤硒污染的既有效又经济的方法。     

Biodegradation of Pyridine and Pyridine Derivatives by Soil and Subsurface Microorganisms

Abstract

Large amounts of aromatic compounds are produced by various industries and two thirds of these are heterocyclic chemicals. Compared with the extensive information available on microbial degradation of homocyclic aromatic compounds, relatively little is known on the transformation and biodegradation of heterocyclic chemicals in soil. Recent concerns about the persistence of hazardous pollutants have led to a renewed interest in the biodegradation of heterocyclic compounds. Hence, we investigated the microbial degradation of pyridine and some of its alkylated derivatives under aerobic and anaerobic conditions in groundwater, subsurface sediment, and soil. Results of the investigation revealed that these compounds were degraded predominantly under aerobic conditions and, to a lesser extent, under anaerobic conditions, with nitrate or sulfate serving as electron acceptors. In groundwater polluted with various pyridine derivatives, biodegradation was limited by the absence of oxygen. Therefore, we conclude that, under appropriate conditions, bioremediation is a potentially feasible method for the clean-up of environments contaminated with heterocyclic chemicals and, in particular, pyridine derivatives.     

A 2‐Tyr‐1‐carboxylate Mononuclear Iron Center Forms the Active Site of a Paracoccus Dimethylformamidase

N,N‐dimethyl formamide (DMF) is an extensively used organic solvent but is also a potent pollutant. Certain bacterial species from genera such as Paracoccus, Pseudomonas, and Alcaligenes have evolved to use DMF as a sole carbon and nitrogen source for growth via degradation by a dimethylformamidase (DMFase). We show that DMFase from Paracoccus sp. strain DMF is a halophilic and thermostable enzyme comprising a multimeric complex of the α₂β₂ or (α₂β₂)₂ type. One of the three domains of the large subunit and the small subunit are hitherto undescribed protein folds of unknown evolutionary origin. The active site consists of a mononuclear iron coordinated by two Tyr side‐chain phenolates and one carboxylate from Glu. The Fe³⁺ ion in the active site catalyzes the hydrolytic cleavage of the amide bond in DMF. Kinetic characterization reveals that the enzyme shows cooperativity between subunits, and mutagenesis and structural data provide clues to the catalytic mechanism.     

Environmental monitoring approaches used during bioremediation of soils contaminated with hazardous explosive chemicals

Defense sites are contaminated with explosives, which are released during manufacturing, firing, testing and training operations; loading, assembly and packing activities; and demilitarization operations. Explosive chemicals are hazardous in nature. Contamination of the soil and the underlying groundwater by explosives pose serious threat to human and animal health and the eco-system. Bioremediation is an eco-friendly technology as it exploits nature’s own agents- the microbes in degrading the contaminant of interest. This waste treatment technology has been extensively studied for degrading the explosive pollutant. Environmental monitoring, a process of systematic collection of data and analysis is essential in performance evaluation of any waste treatment system. This paper gives a comprehensive overview on the environmental monitoring approaches used during bioremediation of explosives contaminated soil. Biogeochemical factors viz., presence and survivability of microbes, bioavailability of the contaminant, pH, temperature, moisture content, redox conditions, presence/addition of substrate and nutrients and presence of intermediates/co-contaminants in the soil environment that are reported to affect the bioremediation of explosives are highlighted. Details on physical, chemical and biological parameters monitored during bioremediation are included. Advancements in instrumental techniques are evolving rapidly and its application in bioremediation approaches promise an enhanced understanding of the mineralization of explosive in the soil environment. Recent developments in application of advanced analytical instrumentation techniques, future research insights with recommendations, which will illuminate the selection of appropriate monitoring tool for evaluating bioremediation are also summarized.     

Catechol determination in compost bioremediation using a laccase sensor and artificial neural networks

An electrochemical biosensor based on the immobilization of laccase on magnetic core-shell (Fe₃O₄–SiO₂) nanoparticles was combined with artificial neural networks (ANNs) for the determination of catechol concentration in compost bioremediation of municipal solid waste. The immobilization matrix provided a good microenvironment for retaining laccase bioactivity, and the combination with ANNs offered a good chemometric tool for data analysis in respect to the dynamic, nonlinear, and uncertain characteristics of the complex composting system. Catechol concentrations in compost samples were determined by using both the laccase sensor and HPLC for calibration. The detection range varied from 7.5 × 10^–7 to 4.4 × 10^–4 M, and the amperometric response current reached 95% of the steady-state current within about 70 s. The performance of the ANN model was compared with the linear regression model in respect to simulation accuracy, adaptability to uncertainty, etc. All the results showed that the combination of amperometric enzyme sensor and artificial neural networks was a rapid, sensitive, and robust method in the quantitative study of the composting system. Figure Structure of the magnetic carbon paste electrode used in the electrochemical biosensor     

Biochemical and genetic bases of dehalorespiration

Some anaerobic bacteria can efficiently eliminate one or more halide atoms from halogenated compounds such as chlorophenols and chloroethenes through reductive dehalogenation. During this process, the bacteria utilize halogenated compounds as the terminal electron acceptors in their anaerobic respiration, called dehalorespiration, to yield energy for growth. Currently the genera of Desulfitobacterium and Dehalococcoides occupy the major part of the dehalorespiring isolates. The former can acquire energy not only by dehalorespiration but also by other respirations utilizing organic compounds and metals. In sharp contrast, the latter is specialized in dehalorespiration and plays a crucial role in the detoxification of chlorinated compounds in nature. From these bacteria, various reductive dehalogenases, which catalyze the dehalogenation reaction, were purified and their corresponding genes were identified. Most reductive dehalogenases exhibit similar features such as the presences of a Tat (twin arginine translocation) signal sequence, two Fe-S clusters, and a corrinoid cofactor. Some of dehalogenase-encoding genes are found to be flanked by insertion sequences. Thus, dehalogenase genes act as a catabolic transposon, and genetic rearrangements mediated by transposable elements occur well in dehalorespirers. Moreover, the genome sequences of some dehalorespiring bacteria provide many insights into the mechanism of dehalorespiration and the evolution of a dehalogenase gene.