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Mineralization of PCBs by the genetically modified strain Cupriavidus necator JMS34 and its application for bioremediation of PCBs in soil

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Abstract

Polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs) are classified as “high-priority pollutants.” Diverse microorganisms are able to degrade PCBs. However, bacterial degradation of PCBs is generally incomplete, leading to the accumulation of chlorobenzoates (CBAs) as dead-end metabolites. To obtain a microorganism able to mineralize PCB congeners, the bph locus of Burkholderia xenovorans LB400, which encodes one of the most effective PCB degradation pathways, was incorporated into the genome of the CBA-degrading bacterium Cupriavidus necator JMP134-X3. The bph genes were transferred into strain JMP134-X3, using the mini-Tn5 transposon system and biparental mating. The genetically modified derivative, C. necator strain JMS34, had only one chromosomal insertion of bph locus, which was stable under nonselective conditions. This modified bacterium was able to grow on biphenyl, 3-CBA and 4-CBA, and degraded 3,5-CBA in the presence of m-toluate. The strain JMS34 mineralized 3-CB, 4-CB, 2,4′-CB, and 3,5-CB, without accumulation of CBAs. Bioaugmentation of PCB-polluted soils with C. necator strain JMS34 and with the native B. xenovorans LB400 was monitored. It is noteworthy that strain JMS34 degraded, in 1 week, 99% of 3-CB and 4-CB and approximately 80% of 2,4′-CB in nonsterile soil, as well as in sterile soil. Additionally, the bacterial count of strain JMS34 increased by almost two orders of magnitude in PCB-polluted nonsterile soil. In contrast, the presence of native microflora reduced the degradation of these PCBs by strain LB400 from 73% (sterile soil) to approximately 50% (nonsterile soil). This study contributes to the development of improved biocatalysts for remediation of PCB-contaminated environments.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Bernardo González, Thomas Ledger, Víctor de Lorenzo, Bernd Hofer, and Edward Moore for support and helpful discussions. M.S. gratefully acknowledges support from the grants FONDECYT 1070507, 7090079, and 1020221, USM 130522, 130836, and 130948, MILENIO P04/007-F (MIDEPLAN), and CONICYT-BMBF.

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  1. Laboratorio de Microbiología Molecular y Biotecnología Ambiental, Departamento de Química and Millennium Nucleus of Microbial Ecology and Environmental Microbiology Biotechnology, Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María, Av. España, 1680, Valparaíso, Chile

    Juan Matías Saavedra, Francisca Acevedo, Myriam González & Michael Seeger

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  1. Juan Matías Saavedra
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  2. Francisca Acevedo
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Saavedra, J.M., Acevedo, F., González, M. et al. Mineralization of PCBs by the genetically modified strain Cupriavidus necator JMS34 and its application for bioremediation of PCBs in soil. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 87, 1543–1554 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-010-2575-6

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