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Biodegradation of hexachlorobenzene by a constructed microbial consortium

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Abstract

A consortium comprised of an engineered Escherichia coli DH5α and a natural pentachlorophenol (PCP) degrader, Sphingobium chlorophenolicum ATCC 39723, was assembled for degradation of hexachlorobenzene (HCB), a persistent organic pollutant. The engineered E. coli strain, harbouring a gene cassette (camA + camB + camC) that encodes the F87W/Y96F/L244A/V247L mutant of cytochrome P-450cam (CYP101), oxidised HCB to PCP. The resulting PCP was then further completely degraded by ATCC 39723. The results showed that almost 40 % of 4 μM HCB was degraded by the consortium at a rate of 0.033 nmol/mg (dry weight)/h over 24 h, accompanied by transient accumulation and immediate consumption of the intermediate PCP, detected by gas chromatography. In contrast, in the consortium comprised of Pseudomonas putida PaW340 harbouring camA + camB + camC and ATCC 39723, PCP accumulated in PaW340 cells but could not be further degraded, which may be due to a permeability barrier of Pseudomonas PaW340 for PCP transportation. The strategy of bacterial co-culture may provide an alternative approach for the bioremediation of HCB contamination.

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Abbreviations

HCB:

Hexachlorobenzene

PCP:

Pentachlorophenol

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Hubei Province of China (2008CDB067) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC, Project No. 31270112). We thank Luet-Lok Wong for the gift of plasmid pCWSGB-camC and Luying Xun for providing Sphingobium chlorophenolicum ATCC 39723.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Biology and Pharmaceutical Engineering, Wuhan Polytechnic University, 68 Xuefu South Road, Changqing Garden, Wuhan, 430023, Hubei, China

    Da-Zhong Yan, Ling-Qi Mao, Cun-Zhi Li & Jun Liu

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  1. Da-Zhong Yan
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  2. Ling-Qi Mao
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  3. Cun-Zhi Li
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  4. Jun Liu
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Correspondence to Da-Zhong Yan.

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Yan, DZ., Mao, LQ., Li, CZ. et al. Biodegradation of hexachlorobenzene by a constructed microbial consortium. World J Microbiol Biotechnol 31, 371–377 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11274-014-1789-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11274-014-1789-7

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