Microbial community analysis of switchgrass planted and unplanted soil microcosms displaying PCB dechlorination

Yi Liang; Richard Meggo; Dingfei Hu; Jerald L Schnoor; Timothy E Mattes

doi:10.1007/s00253-015-6545-x

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Microbial community analysis of switchgrass planted and unplanted soil microcosms displaying PCB dechlorination

Journal article

Peer reviewed

Microbial community analysis of switchgrass planted and unplanted soil microcosms displaying PCB dechlorination

Yi Liang, Richard Meggo, Dingfei Hu, Jerald L Schnoor and Timothy E Mattes

Applied microbiology and biotechnology, Vol.99(15), pp.6515-6526

08/2015

DOI: 10.1007/s00253-015-6545-x

PMCID: PMC4498989

PMID: 25820643

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Abstract

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) pose potential risks to human and environmental health because they are carcinogenic, persistent, and bioaccumulative. In this study, we investigated bacterial communities in soil microcosms spiked with PCB 52, 77, and 153. Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) was employed to improve overall PCB removal, and redox cycling (i.e., sequential periods of flooding followed by periods of no flooding) was performed in an effort to promote PCB dechlorination. Lesser chlorinated PCB transformation products were detected in all microcosms, indicating the occurrence of PCB dechlorination. Terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) and clone library analysis showed that PCB spiking, switchgrass planting, and redox cycling affected the microbial community structure. Putative organohalide-respiring Chloroflexi populations, which were not found in unflooded microcosms, were enriched after 2 weeks of flooding in the redox-cycled microcosms. Sequences classified as Geobacter sp. were detected in all microcosms and were most abundant in the switchgrass-planted microcosm spiked with PCB congeners. The presence of possible organohalide-respiring bacteria in these soil microcosms suggests that they play a role in PCB dechlorination therein.

Soil Microbiology

Biota

Molecular Sequence Data

Chlorine - metabolism

DNA, Bacterial - chemistry

Polychlorinated Biphenyls - metabolism

DNA, Ribosomal - chemistry

Sequence Analysis, DNA

DNA, Bacterial - genetics

Biotransformation

RNA, Ribosomal, 16S - genetics

Panicum - growth & development

DNA, Ribosomal - genetics

ISRP Project 5 2015-2020

Details

Title: Subtitle: Microbial community analysis of switchgrass planted and unplanted soil microcosms displaying PCB dechlorination
Creators: Yi Liang - Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 4105 Seamans Center, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, 52242, USA
Richard Meggo
Dingfei Hu
Jerald L Schnoor
Timothy E Mattes
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Applied microbiology and biotechnology, Vol.99(15), pp.6515-6526
DOI: 10.1007/s00253-015-6545-x
PMID: 25820643
PMCID: PMC4498989
NLM abbreviation: Appl Microbiol Biotechnol
ISSN: 0175-7598
eISSN: 1432-0614
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC; Germany
Grant note: P42ES13661 / NIEHS NIH HHS P42 ES013661 / NIEHS NIH HHS
Language: English
Date published: 08/2015
Academic Unit: Civil and Environmental Engineering; Occupational and Environmental Health; Iowa Superfund Research Program
Record Identifier: 9983997426302771

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