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Biodegradation and chemotaxis of polychlorinated biphenyls, biphenyls, and their metabolites by Rhodococcus spp.

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Abstract

Two biphenyl-degrading bacterial strains, SS1 and SS2, were isolated from polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB)-contaminated soil. They were identified as Rhodococcus ruber and Rhodococcus pyridinivorans based on the 16S rRNA gene sequence, as well as morphological, physiological and biochemical characteristics. SS1 and SS2 exhibited tolerance to 2000 and 3000 mg/L of biphenyl. And they could degrade 83.2 and 71.5% of 1300 mg/L biphenyl within 84 h, respectively. In the case of low-chlorinated PCB congeners, benzoate and 3-chlorobenzoate, the degradation activities of SS1 and SS2 were also significant. In addition, these two strains exhibited chemotactic response toward TCA-cycle intermediates, benzoate, biphenyl and 2-chlorobenzoate. This study indicated that, like the flagellated bacteria, non-flagellated Rhodococcus spp. might actively seek substrates through the process of chemotaxis once the substrates are depleted in their surroundings. Together, these data provide supporting evidence that SS1 and SS2 might be good candidates for restoring biphenyl/PCB-polluted environments.

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Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge the financial support provided by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (2016QNA6009) and the Provincial Public Technology and Applied Research Projects by Science and Technology Department of Zhejiang Province (2014C33020, 2017C33020).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Engineering, College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China

    Hui Wang, Kai Xu, Xianjin Tang, Xinhua Xu & Chaofeng Shen

  2. Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory for Water Pollution Control and Environmental Safety, Hangzhou, 310058, China

    Hui Wang, Kai Xu & Chaofeng Shen

  3. College of Science and Technology, Ningbo University, Ningbo, 315212, China

    Jinxing Hu

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  1. Hui Wang
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  2. Jinxing Hu
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  3. Kai Xu
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Correspondence to Chaofeng Shen.

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Wang, H., Hu, J., Xu, K. et al. Biodegradation and chemotaxis of polychlorinated biphenyls, biphenyls, and their metabolites by Rhodococcus spp.. Biodegradation 29, 1–10 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10532-017-9809-6

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