Abstract
Delftia acidovorans MC1071 can productively degrade R-2-(2,4-dichlorophenoxy)propionate (R-2,4-DP) but not 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetate (2,4-D) herbicides. This work demonstrates adaptation of MC1071 to degrade 2,4-D in a model two-dimensional porous medium (referred to here as a micromodel). Adaptation for 2,4-D degradation in the 2 cm-long micromodel occurred within 35 days of exposure to 2,4-D, as documented by substrate removal. The amount of 2,4-D degradation in the adapted cultures in two replicate micromodels (~10 and 20 % over 142 days) was higher than a theoretical maximum (4 %) predicted using published numerical simulation methods, assuming instantaneous biodegradation and a transverse dispersion coefficient obtained for the same pore structure without biomass present. This suggests that the presence of biomass enhances substrate mixing. Additional evidence for adaptation was provided by operation without R-2,4-DP, where degradation of 2,4-D slowly decreased over 20 days, but was restored almost immediately when R-2,4-DP was again provided. Compared to suspended growth systems, the micromodel system retained the ability to degrade 2,4-D longer in the absence of R-2,4-DP, suggesting slower responses and greater resilience to fluctuations in substrates might be expected in the soil environment than in a chemostat.
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Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the National Research Initiative Grant 2007-35107-17817 from the United States Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture and a German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) fellowship to SL. Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-program laboratory managed and operated by Sandia Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corporation, for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-AC04-94AL85000. CYZ also acknowledges financial support from the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Biological and Environmental Research, Subsurface Biogeochemistry Research Program Scientific Focus Area at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.
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Yoon, H., Leibeling, S., Zhang, C. et al. Adaptation of Delftia acidovorans for degradation of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetate in a microfluidic porous medium. Biodegradation 25, 595–604 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10532-014-9684-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10532-014-9684-3