Abstract
Pseudomonas sp. AKS2 isolated from soil degrades polyethylene succinate (PES) efficiently in the laboratory. However, this organism may not be able to degrade PES with similar efficiency in a natural habitat. Since in situ remediation is preferred for the effective removal of recalcitrant materials like plastic, in the current study, bioaugmentation potential of this organism was investigated. To investigate the potential of the AKS2 strain to bioaugment the PES-contaminated soil, a microcosm-based study was carried out wherein naturally attenuated, biostimulated, and AKS2-inoculated (bioaugmented) soil samples were examined for their ability to degrade PES. The results showed better degradation of PES by bioaugmented soil than other microcosms. Consistent with it, a higher number of PES-degrading organisms were found in the bioaugmented microcosm. The bioaugmented microcosm also exhibited a higher level of average well color development in BiOLOG ECO plate assay than the other two. The corresponding Shannon–Weaver index and Gini coefficient revealed a higher soil microbial diversity of bioaugmented microcosm than the others. This was further supported by community-level physiological profile of three different microcosms wherein we have observed better utilization of different carbon sources by bioaugmented microcosms. Collectively, these results demonstrate that bioaugmentation of PES-contaminated soil with AKS2 not only enhances polymer degradation but also increases microbial diversity. Bioaugmentation of soil with AKS2 enhances PES degradation without causing damage to soil ecology. Thus, Pseudomonas sp. AKS2 has the potential to be implemented as a useful tool for in situ bioremediation of PES.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adam G, Duncan H (2001) Development of a sensitive and rapid method for the measurement of total microbial activity using fluorescein diacetate (FDA) in a range of soils. Soil Biol Biochem 33:943–951
Andreoni V, Cavalca L, Rao MA, Nocerino G, Bernasconi S, Dell'Amico E, Colombo M, Gianfreda L (2004) Bacterial communities and enzyme activities of PAHs polluted soils. Chemosphere 57:401–412
Brookes PC, Landman A, Pruden G, Jenkinson DS (1985) Chloroform fumigation and the release of soil nitrogen: a rapid direct extraction method to measure microbial biomass nitrogen in soil. Soil Biol Biochem 17:837–842
Choi KH, Dobbs FC (1999) Comparison of two kinds of BiOLOG microplates (GN and ECO) in their ability to distinguish among aquatic microbial communities. J Microbiol Method 36:203–213
Epelde L, Mijangos I, Becerril JM, Garbisu C (2009) Soil microbial community as bioindicator of the recovery of soil functioning derived from metal phytoextraction with sorghum. Soil Biol Biochem 41:1788–1794
Fujimaki T, Watanabe N, Moteki Y, Imaizumi M (1995) Processibility of a new biodegradable aliphatic polyester “Bionolle.” Fourth International Workshop on Biodegradable Plastics and Polymers. October 11–14, 1990, New Hampshire, USA
Garland JL (1997) Analysis and interpretation of community-level physiological profiles in microbial ecology. FEMS Microbiol Ecol 24:289–300
Hoang KC, Tseng M, Shu WJ (2007) Degradation of polyethylene succinate (PES) by a new thermophilic Microbispora strain. Biodegradation 18:333–342
Ishii N, Inoue Y, Shimada KI, Tezuka Y, Mitomo H, Kasuya KI (2007) Fungal degradation of poly (ethylene succinate). Polym Degrad Stab 92:44–52
Killham K, Staddon WJ (2002) Bioindicators and sensors of soil health and the application of geostatistics. In: Burns RG, Dick R (eds) Enzymes in the environment: activity, ecology and applications. Marcel Dekker, New York, pp 391–405
Lowry OH, Rosebrough NJ, Farr AL, Randall RJ (1951) Protein measurement with the Folin phenol reagent. J Biol Chem 193:265–275
Maeda Y, Nakayama A, Iyoda J, Hayashi K, Yamamoto N (1993) Synthesis and biodegradation of the copolymers of succinic anhydride with various oxiranes. Kobunshi Ronbunshu 50:723–729
Margesin R, Walder G, Schinner F (2000) The impact of hydrocarbon remediation (diesel oil and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) on enzyme activities and microbial properties of soil. Acta Biotechnol 20:313–333
Moreno JL, Aliaga A, Navarro S, Hernandez T, Garcia C (2007) Effects of atrazine on microbial activity in semiarid soil. Appl Soil Ecol 35:120–127
Singh J, Singh DK (2005) Dehydrogenase and phosphomonoesterase activities in groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) field after diazinon, imidacloprid and lindane treatments. Chemosphere 60:32–42
Tansengco ML, Tokiwa Y (1998) Thermophilic microbial degradation of poly (ethylene succinate). World J Microbiol Biotechnol 14:133–138
Teng Y, Luo Y, Sun M, Liu Z, Li Z, Christie P (2010) Effect of bioaugmentation by Paracoccus sp. strain HPD-2 on the soil microbial community and removal of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from an aged contaminated soil. Bioresour Technol 101:3437–3443
Tezuka Y, Ishii N, Kasuya KI, Mitomo H (2004) Degradation of poly (ethylene succinate) by mesophilic bacteria. Polym Degrad Stab 84:115–121
Tribedi P, Sarkar S, Mukherjee K, Sil AK (2012) Isolation of a novel Pseudomonas sp from soil that can efficiently degrade polyethylene succinate. Environ Sci Pollut Res. doi:10.1007/s11356-011-0711-1
Vance ED, Brookes PC, Jenkinson DS (1987) An extraction method for measuring soil microbial biomass-C. Soil Biol Biochem 19:703–707
Yao HY, Xu JM, Huang CY (2003) Substrate utilization pattern, biomass and activity of microbial communities in a sequence of heavy metal-polluted paddy soils. Geoderma 115:139–148
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank Dr. Srimonti Sarkar for her helpful comments and valuable discussions during the tenure of the work. PT is supported by CSIR-Senior Research Fellowship, Government of India. This work is supported partly by a grant-in-aid for scientific research from the Department of Science and Technology, Government of West Bengal, India.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Responsible editor: Robert Duran
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Tribedi, P., Sil, A.K. Bioaugmentation of polyethylene succinate-contaminated soil with Pseudomonas sp. AKS2 results in increased microbial activity and better polymer degradation. Environ Sci Pollut Res 20, 1318–1326 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-012-1080-0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-012-1080-0