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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, August 1998, p. 2966-2969, Vol. 64, No. 8
0099-2240/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Microbial Dechlorination of 2,3,5,6-Tetrachlorobiphenyl under Anaerobic Conditions in the Absence of Soil or Sediment

Leah Cutter,1 Kevin R. Sowers,2 and Harold D. May1,*

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina,1 and Center of Marine Biotechnology, University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute, Baltimore, Maryland2

Received 23 January 1998/Accepted 22 May 1998

Bacterial enrichment cultures developed with Baltimore Harbor (BH) sediments were found to reductively dechlorinate 2,3,5,6-tetrachlorobiphenyl (2,3,5,6-CB) when incubated in a minimal estuarine medium containing short-chain fatty acids under anaerobic conditions with and without the addition of sediment. Primary enrichment cultures formed both meta and ortho dechlorination products from 2,3,5,6-CB. The lag time preceding dechlorination decreased from 30 to less than 20 days as the cultures were sequentially transferred into estuarine medium containing dried, sterile BH sediment. In addition, only ortho dechlorination was observed following transfer of the cultures. Sequential transfer into medium without added sediment also resulted in the development of a strict ortho-dechlorinating culture following a lag of more than 100 days. Upon further transfer into the minimal medium without sediment, the lag time decreased to less than 50 days. At this stage all cultures, regardless of the presence of sediment, would produce 2,3,5-CB and 3,5-CB from 2,3,5,6-CB. The strict ortho-dechlorinating activity in the sediment-free cultures has remained stable for more than 1 year through several transfers. These results reveal that the classical microbial enrichment technique using a minimal medium with a single polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congener selected for ortho dechlorination of 2,3,5,6-CB. Furthermore, this is the first report of sustained anaerobic PCB dechlorination in the complete absence of soil or sediment.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Medical University of South Carolina, Dept. of Microbiology & Immunology, 171 Ashley Ave., 225 BSB, Charleston, SC 29425-2230. Phone: (803) 792-7140. Fax: (803) 792-2464. E-mail: mayh{at}musc.edu.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, August 1998, p. 2966-2969, Vol. 64, No. 8
0099-2240/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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