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Microbial dechlorination of HCB, PCP, PCB180, HCH and PCE in a Yangtze Three Gorges Reservoir enrichment culture, China

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Abstract

Highly chlorinated pollutants are often found in river sediments, such as in the Yangtze River. In this study, the transformation of hexachlorobenzene, pentachlorophenol, polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB), hexachlorocyclohexane and perchloroethene was demonstrated in a mixed microbial culture enriched from Xiangxi River sediment [a tributary of Yangtze River belonging to the Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR)] which contained halo-respiring bacteria. Reductive dehalogenation by the Yangtze bacteria resulted in the formation of lower chlorinated metabolites, such as tri- and dichlorobenzenes, tri- and dichlorophenols, vinyl chloride and ethene. In case of PCB180, the lesser chlorinated metabolite PCB146 was detected and is recommended for future monitoring programs. Increased gene copy numbers of dechlorinating bacteria, e.g. Dehalococcoides spp. and Desulfitobacterium spp., were observed after the transformation of the chlorinated pollutants. In conclusion, the study demonstrates the capability of Yangtze River bacteria to dechlorinate several important chlorinated pollutants, indicating efficient pollutant turnover in the TGR area.

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Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF, Grant No. 02WT1130). This study was part of the Sino-German Yangtze-Hydro Project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department Microbiology and Molecular Biology, DVGW-Technologiezentrum Wasser (TZW), Karlsruher Straße 84, 76139, Karlsruhe, Germany

    Irene Kranzioch-Seipel, Ulrike Beckert & Andreas Tiehm

  2. Department of Environmental Engineering, College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, People’s Republic of China

    Chaofeng Shen

  3. Department of Environmental Science, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, 1239 Sipping Road, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China

    Daqiang Yin

Authors
  1. Irene Kranzioch-Seipel
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  2. Ulrike Beckert
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  3. Chaofeng Shen
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  4. Daqiang Yin
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  5. Andreas Tiehm
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Correspondence to Andreas Tiehm.

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This article is part of a Topical Collection in Environmental Earth Sciences on “Environmental Research of the Three Gorges Reservoir”, guest edited by Binghui Zheng, Shengrui Wang, Yanwen Qin, Stefan Norra, and Xiafu Liu.

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Kranzioch-Seipel, I., Beckert, U., Shen, C. et al. Microbial dechlorination of HCB, PCP, PCB180, HCH and PCE in a Yangtze Three Gorges Reservoir enrichment culture, China. Environ Earth Sci 75, 928 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-016-5653-y

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