Application of independent immobilization in benzo[a]pyrene biodegradation by synthetic microbial consortium.

Bioaugmentation is an effective approach to remove the benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) from the environment, while its effect depends on the functional stability of the inoculated microorganisms. The aim of this study is to develop an approach on reducing the mutual exclusion of bacteria in the synthetic consortium in BaP degradation. Eight BaP-degrading bacterial strains were isolated from an enrichment with BaP as the sole carbon source. Two strains of Cupriavidus spp. exhibited greater degradation capacity (3.02-3.30 mg L-1 day-1) and selected as the "good degraders" in the synthetic consortia. Because of the mutual exclusion, the BaP-degradation capacity was reduced (1.47-1.77 mg L-1 day-1) when the other strains were added into "good degraders" through directly mixing the inocula. This mutual exclusion was mitigated through independent immobilization, in which the strains were embedded in sodium alginate before constructing the consortium. The consortium constructed by independent immobilization exhibited comparable BaP-degradation capacity with the high efficient strains. Therefore, the independent immobilization can be an advanced approach in functional consortium synthesis.

Enhanced phenanthrene degradation in river sediments using a combination of biochar and nitrate.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) pollution in urban river sediments is a serious problem to ecological systems and human health. We examined novel remediation approaches, using a biochar amendment combined with bioaugmentation or/and nitrate stimulation, to degrade phenanthrene in sediment. Biochar amendment combined with nitrate stimulation enhanced phenanthrene degradation by 2.3 times that of the control and 1.9 times that of biochar alone. Nitrate stimulation altered the microbial succession and encouraged the growth of potential nitrate-reducing PAH-degraders Thiobacillus and Stenotrophomonas. Biochar was an excellent sorbent for phenanthrene and the shelter that it provided PAH-degraders increased contact between phenanthrene and PAH-degraders. Biochar also enhanced the aging effects of phenanthrene and reduced the ecological risk by 7.7% to 11%. These results suggest that biochar amendment combined with nitrate stimulation can achieve high-efficiency phenanthrene degradation in sediments.

Removal of emulsified oil from water by fruiting bodies of macro-fungus (Auricularia polytricha).

The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of utilizing the fruiting bodies of a jelly macro-fungus Auricularia polytricha as adsorbents to remove emulsified oil from water. The effects of several factors, including temperature, initial pH, agitation speed, and adsorbent dosage, were taken into account. Results showed that the optimized conditions for adsorption of A. polytricha were a temperature of 35°C, pH of 7.5, and agitation speed of 100 rpm. The adsorption kinetics were characterized by the pseudo-first order model, which showed the adsorption to be a fast physical process. The Langmuir-Freundlich isotherm described the adsorption very well and predicted the maximum adsorption capacity of 398 mg g-1, under optimized conditions. As illustrated by scanning electron micrographs, the oil particles were adsorbed onto the hairs covering the bottom surface and could be desorbed by normal temperature volatilization. The material could be used as an emulsified oil adsorbent at least three times, retaining more than 95% of the maximum adsorption capacity. The results demonstrated that the fruiting bodies of A. polytricha can be a useful adsorbent to remove emulsified oil from water.

[Effect of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons on the vertical distribution of denitrifying genes in river sediments].

To establish the relationship between polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and various stages of denitrification under denitrifying conditions in sediments, we examined the impact of PAHs on the vertical distribution of special denitrifying genes. In March of 2011, sediment samples were collected from three representative locations along the Pearl River. The characteristics of vertical distribution of PAHs as well as denitrifying genes in the sediment samples were analyzed. Based on these vertical characteristics, relationships between PAHs and special denitrifying genes (narG, nirS, nosZ and nrfA) were established using the multivariate method. Results of canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) showed a close correlation between high ring PAHs and dissimilatory nitrate reduction. The impact of PAHs on nosZ was the most significant, namely PAHs imposed strong inhibition on the nitrite reduction stage. Except for the nitrite reduction stage, denitrifying bacteria from other stages of denitrification acclimatized themselves to the high ring PAHs. Especially, bacteria containing nrfA may have the potential to anaerobically degrade high ring PAHs. Besides this, the special role of nirS remains to be studied further.

[Factors affecting the DAPI fluorescence direct count in the tidal river sediment].

The factors affecting the DAPI (4', 6-diamidino-2-phenylidole) fluorescence direct count in the tidal river sediment were examined. Sediment samples were collected from the Guangzhou section of the Pearl River. Besides sediment texture and organic matter, an improved staining procedure and the involved parameters were analyzed. Results showed that the procedure with the sediment with 2000 fold dilution and ultrasonic water bath for 10 min, and with a final DAPI concentration of 10 microg x mL(-1) and staining time for more than 30 min produced the optimum results of DAPI direct count in the sediment. The total bacterial number was correlated to the proportion of the non-nucleoid-containing cells to the total bacterial number (r = 0.587, p = 0.004). The organic matter content also correlated to the ration. The clay content had a strong correlation with the organic matter, through which the clay content also affected the ratio. A multiple regression analysis between the ration versus the organic matter, the total bacterial number, and the clay content showed that the regression equation fit the measure values satisfactorily (r = 0.694). These results indicated that the above factors needed to be considered in the applications of the DAPI fluorescence direct counting method to the tidal river sediment.

Potential toxic risk of heavy metals from sediment of the Pearl River in South China.

Based on the monitoring of five heavy metal elements in the surface sediments of the Pearl River in South China, potential toxicity of the heavy metals was assessed using consensus-based sediment quality guidelines (SQGs) method and geo-accumulation (I(geo)) index method. The monitoring results showed the heavy metal concentrations were significantly and positively correlated with each other, demonstrating a common trend in variation of concentration in the surface sediments. The assessment using the consensus-based SQGs method showed the potential toxicity of Cu was the highest, and Cd was the lowest. The evaluation based on mean probable effect concentration (PEC) quotient showed the region was seriously polluted with high toxicity heavy metals. Correlation analysis revealed a significant and positive correlation between the mean PEC quotient and the average of I(geo) with a correlation coefficient of 0.926 (n = 23, P < 0.01). In conclusion, the consensus-based SQGs and mean PEC quotient are applicable to assess potential toxicity risks of heavy metals in freshwater sediments in the Pearl River.

Effects of bacteria on nitrogen and phosphorus release from river sediment.

To better understand the mechanisms of eutrophication, we addressed the microbial processes that influence many key aspects of water-sediment systems. In this study, a large column experiment was conducted for 30 d. Along the column, solution samples were collected at different locations at different time. The samples were analyzed for physical, chemical, and biological properties of the sediment and overlying water. The results showed that the amount of nitrogen transforming bacteria was higher than that of phosphorous bacteria. The amount of nitrogen transforming bacteria was in the order: ammonifier > denitrifying bacteria > nitrobacteria and nitrosomonas. Principal component analysis indicated that the three main factors accounted for more than 90% overall contributions for bacterium growth, which represented nutrition, organics and oxygen, and pH and redox potential (Eh) of the environment. Corresponding to the bacteria, the concentrations of nitrogen in the system was in the order: ammonia (NH4(+)-N) > nitrate (NO3(-)-N) > nitrite (NO2(-)-N). The fluxes of N and P clearly showed a temporal release and adsorption processes in the water-sediment system. The large magnitude of N fluxes suggested that N might act as an important contamination source for the water quality. However, P exchange between the sediment and overlying water was less intensive during the experiment.