Identification and Characterisation of a Bacterial Isolate Capable of Growth on Trichloroethylene as the Sole Carbon Source

Piyali Mukherjee, Pranab Roy

Department of Biotechnology, Burdwan University, Burdwan, India.

DOI: 10.4236/aim.2012.23034                

Abstract

The aim of this research work was to isolate microbes from soil, to investigate their potential use as effective bioremediation tools for trichloroethylene—a potent environmental pollutant. The isolate showing good growth in presence of TCE was named PM102. Microbiological characterisation of the PM102 isolate showed that it was a gram negative rod. Detailed structure was revealed by scanning electron microscopy. pH and temperature optima, salt tolerance and optimum TCE concentration for growth of PM102 were determined. The ability of this bacterium to degrade TCE was studied in acidic and neutral pH by biochemical test and chloride release. Five TCE inducible bands were detected in the protein profile of the isolate as studied by SDS PAGE. A major TCE inducible band of 51.61 kDa was excised from the gel and injected into rabbit to raise specific antibody. The bacterium was identified as Stenotrophomonas maltophilia PM102 by 16S rDNA amplification and sequencing. The 16S rRNA gene sequence has been deposited in the NCBI GenBank with accession number JQ797560. This genus has not been described previously as being capable of TCE degradation. We report for the first time a Stenotrophomonas sp. that grows on TCE as the sole carbon source.

Keywords

Trichloroethylene; Sole Carbon Source; Bioremediation

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1]	J. Parkhouse, “Trichloroethylene,” British Journal of Anaesthesia, Vol. 37, No. 9, 1965, pp. 681-687. doi:10.1093/bja/37.9.681
[2]	Fact Sheet, “Trichloroethene in Indoor and Outdoor Air,” New York State Department of Health, 2005. http://www.victorny.org/Data/FileManager/ PageDownloads/Town/Modock/TCE_Facts.pdf
[3]	Chapter 5.15, “Trichloroethylene, Air Quality Guide-Lines,” World Health Organization, 2000. http://www.euro.who.int/document/ aiq/5_15trichloroethylene.pdf
[4]	“Documentation of Threshold Limit Values and Biological Exposure Indices,” 6th Edition, American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists, Cincinnati, 1991.
[5]	“Substances Found at Proposed and Final NPL Sites through Update Number Three,” US Environmental Protection Agency, Washington DC, 1985, Document NPL-U3-6-3.
[6]	G. J. Hathaway, N. H. Proctor, J. P. Huges and M. L. Fischman, “Chemical Hazards of the Workplace,” 3rd Edition, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 1991.
[7]	R. Oldenhuis, R. L. J. M. Vink, D. B. Janssen and B. Witholt, “Degradation of Chlorinated Aliphatic Hydrocarbons by Methylosinus trichosporium OB3b Expressing Soluble Methane Monooxygenase,” Applied and Environmental Microbiology, Vol. 55, No. 11, 1981, pp. 2819-2826.
[8]	Alvarez-Cohen and P. L. McCarty, “Product Toxicity and Cometabolic Competitive Inhibition Modeling of Chloroform and Trichloroethylene Transformation by Methanotrophic Resting Cells,” Applied and Environmental Microbiology, Vol. 57, No. 4, 1991, pp. 1031-1037.
[9]	K. J. Malachowsky, T. J. Phelps, A. B. Teboli, D. E. Minnikin and D. C. White, “Aerobic Mineralization of Trichloroethylene, Vinyl Chloride, and Aromatic Compounds by Rhodococcus Species,” Applied and Environmental Microbiology, Vol. 60, No. 2, 1994, pp. 542-548.
[10]	M. J. K. Nelson, S. O. Montgomery and P. H. Pritchard, “Trichloroethylene Metabolism by Microorganisms That Degrade Aromatic Compounds,” Applied and Environmental Microbiology, Vol. 54, No. 6, 1988, pp. 604-606.
[11]	Y. Kamagata, T. Kanagawa, R. Kurane, H. Zhang, S. Hanada, T. Shigematsu and K. Shibuya, “Burkholderia kururiensis sp. nov., a Trichloroethylene (TCE)-Degrading Bacterium Isolated from an Aquifer Polluted with TCE,” International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology, 2000, Vol. 50, No. 2, pp.743-749. doi:10.1099/00207713-50-2-743
[12]	B. R. Folsom, P. J. Chapman and P. H. Pritchard, “Phenol and Trichloroethylene Degradation by Pseudomonas cepacia G4: Kinetics and Interactions between Substrates,” Applied and Environmental Microbiology, Vol. 56, No. 5, 1990, pp. 1279-1285.
[13]	L. P. Wackett and D. T. Gibson, “Degradation of Trichloroethylene by Toluene dioxygenase in Whole-Cell Studies with Pseudomonas putida Fl,” Applied and Environmental Microbiology, Vol. 54, No. 7, 1988, pp. 1703-1708.
[14]	M. S. Shields and M. J. Reagin, “Selection of a Pseudomonas cepacia Strain Constitutive for the Degradation of Trichloroethylene,” Applied and Environmental Microbiology, Vol. 58, No. 12, 1992, pp. 3977-3983.
[15]	M. E. Rasche, M. R. Hyman and D. J. Arp, “Factors Limiting Aliphatic Chlorocarbon Degradation by Nitrosomonas europaea: Cometabolic Inactivation of Ammonia Monooxygenase and Substrate Specificity,” Applied and Environmental Microbiology, Vol. 57, No. 10, 1991, pp. 2986-2994.
[16]	D. Arciero, T. Vannelli, M. Logan and A. B. Hooper, “Degradation of Trichloroethylene by the Ammonia-Oxidizing Bacterium, Nitrosonionas europaea,” Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, 1989, Vol. 159, No. 2, pp. 640-643. doi:10.1016/0006-291X(89)90042-9
[17]	L. P. Wackett, G. A. Brusseau, S. R. Householder and R. S. Hanson, “Survey of Microbial Oxygenases: Trichloroethylene Degradation by Propane-Oxidizing Bacteria,” Applied and Environmental Microbiology, Vol. 55, No. 11, 1989, pp. 2960-2964.
[18]	P. Pant and S. Pant, “A Review: Advances in Microbial Remediation of Trichloroethylene (TCE),” Journal of Environmental Sciences, Vol. 22, No. 1, 2010, pp. 16-126. doi:10.1016/S1001-0742(09)60082-6
[19]	K. Dey and P. Roy, “Degradation of Trichloroethylene by Bacillus sp.: Isolation Strategy, Strain Characteristics, and Cell Immobilization,” Current Microbiology, Vol. 59, No. 3, 2009, pp. 256-260. doi:10.1007/s00284-009-9427-6
[20]	S. Yamamura, Y. Morita, Q. Hasan, K. Yokoyama and E. Tamiya, “Keratin Degradation: A Cooperative Action of Two Enzymes from Stenotrophomonas sp.,” Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, Vol. 294, No. 5, 2002, pp. 1138-1143. doi:10.1016/S0006-291X(02)00580-6
[21]	B.-H. Zhou, R.-F. Yuan, C.-H. Shi, L.-Y. Yu, J.-N. Gu and C.-L. Zhang, “Biodegradation of Geosmin in Drinking Water by Novel Bacteria Isolated from Biologically Active Carbon,” Journal of Environmental Sciences, Vol. 23, No. 5, 2011, pp. 816-823. doi:10.1016/S1001-0742(10)60458-5
[22]	S. Rousseaux, A. Hartmann and G. Soulas, “Isolation and Characterization of New Gram-Negative and Gram-Positive Atrazine Degrading Bacteria from Different French Soils: Sandrine,” FEMS Microbiology Ecology, Vol. 36, No. 2-3, 2001, pp. 211-222. doi:10.1111/j.1574-6941.2001.tb00842.x
[23]	Z. Liu, C. Yang and C. Qiao, “Biodegradation of p-Nitrophenol and 4-Chlorophenol by Stenotrophomonas sp.,” FEMS Microbiology Ecology, Vol. 277, No. 2, 2007, pp. 150-156. doi:10.1111/j.1574-6968.2007.00940.x
[24]	G. Urszula, G. Izabela, W. Danuta and L. Sylwia, “Isolation and Characterization Of A Novel Strain Of Stenotrophomonas maltophilia Possessing Various Dioxygenases for Monocyclic Hydrocarbon Degradation,” Brazilian Journal of Microbiology, Vol. 40, No. 2, 2009, pp. 285-291.
[25]	M. W. Reij, J. Kieboom, J. A. M. De Bont and S. Hartmans, “Continuous Degradation of Trichloroethylene by Xanthobacter sp. Strain Py2 during Growth on Propene,” Applied and Environmental Microbiology, Vol. 61, No. 8, 1995, pp. 2936-2942.
[26]	M. S. Moss and H. J. Rylance, “The Fujiwara Reaction: Some Observation on the Mechanism,” Nature, 1966, Vol. 210, pp. 945-946. doi:10.1038/210945a0
[27]	T. Gregersen, “Rapid Method for Distinction of Gram Negative from Gram Positive Bacteria,” Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, Vol. 5, No. 2, 1978, pp. 123-127.
[28]	C. C. Ling, “Bacterial Polysaccharides: Current Innovations and Future Trends,” Caister Academic Press, Norfolk, 1999.
[29]	M. Dilworth, F. G. Rynne, J. M. Castelli, A. I. Vivas-Marfisi and A. R. Glennt, “Survival and Exopolysaccharide Production in Sinorhizobium rneliloti WSM419 Are Affected by Calcium and Low pH,” Microbiology, Vol. 145, 1999, pp. 1585-1593.
[30]	P. Van Damme, B. Pot, M. Gillis, P. Devos, K. Kersters and J. Swings, “Polyphasic Taxonomy, a Consensus Approach to Bacterial Systematic,” Microbiological Reviews, Vol. 60, No. 2, pp. 407-438.
[31]	M. Whittaker, D. Monroe, D. Junoh and S. Anderson, “TCE Degradation Pathway,” 2006. http://unbbd.msi.umm.edu