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Published on: October 15, 2015
Chloroform respiration to dichloromethane by a Dehalobacter population
Ariel Grostern1, Melanie Duhamel, Sandra Dworatzek
1Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada, M5S 3E5.
We discovered that chloroform (trichloromethane) can be rapidly dechlorinated by Dehalobacter bacteria. This anaerobic process uses hydrogen as an electron donor, indicating potential for bioremediation.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Science
- Microbiology
- Bioremediation
Background:
- Chloroform (trichloromethane) is a persistent environmental pollutant due to industrial use and poor disposal.
- It is a potent metabolic inhibitor with no known natural growth substrate.
- Anaerobic reductive dechlorination is a key process for degrading halogenated pollutants.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the anaerobic reductive dechlorination of chloroform.
- To identify the microbial mechanisms involved in chloroform degradation.
- To assess the potential for bioremediation of chloroform contamination.
Main Methods:
- Culturing Dehalobacter in an anaerobic environment.
- Investigating the dechlorination of 1,1,1-trichloroethane and chloroform.
- Measuring growth-linked respiratory processes using H(2) as an electron donor.
Main Results:
- Chloroform was rapidly and sustainably dechlorinated by a Dehalobacter-containing culture.
- Chloroform dechlorination was a growth-linked respiratory process, requiring H(2) and chloroform.
- The same reductive dehalogenase likely catalyzed both chloroform and 1,1,1-trichloroethane dechlorination.
Conclusions:
- Dehalobacter possesses a specialized reductive dehalogenase capable of dechlorinating chloroform.
- This finding has significant implications for the bioremediation of chloroform-contaminated sites.
- The Dehalobacter population demonstrates a unique specialization for substrates with three halogen substituents on a single carbon atom.
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