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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, December 2006, p. 7849-7856, Vol. 72, No. 12
0099-2240/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.01269-06
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

A 1,1,1-Trichloroethane-Degrading Anaerobic Mixed Microbial Culture Enhances Biotransformation of Mixtures of Chlorinated Ethenes and Ethanes{triangledown}

Ariel Grostern1 and Elizabeth A. Edwards2*

Department of Cell and Systems Biology,1 Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada2

Received 2 June 2006/ Accepted 10 October 2006

1,1,1-Trichloroethane (1,1,1-TCA) is a common groundwater pollutant as a result of improper disposal and accidental spills. It is often found as a cocontaminant with trichloroethene (TCE) and inhibits some TCE-degrading microorganisms. 1,1,1-TCA removal is therefore required for effective bioremediation of sites contaminated with mixed chlorinated organics. This study characterized MS, a 1,1,1-TCA-degrading, anaerobic, mixed microbial culture derived from a 1,1,1-TCA-contaminated site in the northeastern United States. MS reductively dechlorinated 1,1,1-TCA to 1,1-dichloroethane (1,1-DCA) and then to monochloroethane (CA) but not further. Cloning of bacterial 16S rRNA genes revealed among other organisms the presence of a Dehalobacter sp. and a Desulfovibrio sp., which are both phylogenetically related to known dehalorespiring strains. Monitoring of these populations with species-specific quantitative PCR during degradation of 1,1,1-TCA and 1,1-DCA showed that Dehalobacter proliferated during dechlorination. Dehalobacter growth was dechlorination dependent, whereas Desulfovibrio growth was dechlorination independent. Experiments were also performed to test whether MS could enhance TCE degradation in the presence of inhibiting levels of 1,1,1-TCA. Dechlorination of cis-dichloroethene (cDCE) and vinyl chloride (VC) in KB-1, a chloroethene-degrading culture used for bioaugmentation, was inhibited with 1,1,1-TCA present. When KB-1 and MS were coinoculated, degradation of cDCE and VC to ethene proceeded as soon as the 1,1,1-TCA was dechlorinated to 1,1-DCA by MS. This demonstrated the potential application of the MS and KB-1 cultures for cobioaugmentation of sites cocontaminated with 1,1,1-TCA and TCE.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: University of Toronto, 200 College St., Toronto, ON M5S 3E5, Canada. Phone: (416) 946-3506. Fax: (416) 978-8605. E-mail: edwards{at}chem-eng.utoronto.ca.

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 20 October 2006.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, December 2006, p. 7849-7856, Vol. 72, No. 12
0099-2240/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.01269-06
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Grostern, A., Edwards, E. A. (2009). Characterization of a Dehalobacter Coculture That Dechlorinates 1,2-Dichloroethane to Ethene and Identification of the Putative Reductive Dehalogenase Gene. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 75: 2684-2693 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


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