Publication Details

Category Text Publication
Reference Category Journals
DOI 10.1021/acs.est.3c09171
Title (Primary) Interspecies mobility of organohalide respiration gene clusters enables genetic bioaugmentation
Author Zhao, S.; Rogers, M.J.; Ding, C.; Xu, G.; He, J.
Source Titel Environmental Science & Technology
Year 2024
Department MEB
Volume 58
Issue 9
Page From 4214
Page To 4225
Language englisch
Topic T7 Bioeconomy
Supplements https://pubs.acs.org/doi/suppl/10.1021/acs.est.3c09171/suppl_file/es3c09171_si_001.pdf
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/suppl/10.1021/acs.est.3c09171/suppl_file/es3c09171_si_002.xlsx
Keywords Sulfurospirillum organohalide respiring bacteria; reductive dehalogenation; horizontal gene transfer; genetic bioaugmentation
Abstract Anthropogenic organohalide pollutants pose a severe threat to public health and ecosystems. In situ bioremediation using organohalide respiring bacteria (OHRB) offers an environmentally friendly and cost-efficient strategy for decontaminating organohalide-polluted sites. The genomic structures of many OHRB suggest that dehalogenation traits can be horizontally transferred among microbial populations, but their occurrence among anaerobic OHRB has not yet been demonstrated experimentally. This study isolates and characterizes a novel tetrachloroethene (PCE)-dechlorinating Sulfurospirillum sp. strain SP, distinguishing itself among anaerobic OHRB by showcasing a mechanism essential for horizontal dissemination of reductive dehalogenation capabilities within microbial populations. Its genetic characterization identifies a unique plasmid (pSULSP), harboring reductive dehalogenase and de novo corrinoid biosynthesis operons, functions critical to organohalide respiration, flanked by mobile elements. The active mobility of these elements was demonstrated through genetic analyses of spontaneously emerging nondehalogenating variants of strain SP. More importantly, bioaugmentation of nondehalogenating microcosms with pSULSP DNA triggered anaerobic PCE dechlorination in taxonomically diverse bacterial populations. Our results directly support the hypothesis that exposure to anthropogenic organohalide pollutants can drive the emergence of dehalogenating microbial populations via horizontal gene transfer and demonstrate a mechanism by which genetic bioaugmentation for remediation of organohalide pollutants could be achieved in anaerobic environments.
Persistent UFZ Identifier https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=20939&ufzPublicationIdentifier=28862
Zhao, S., Rogers, M.J., Ding, C., Xu, G., He, J. (2024):
Interspecies mobility of organohalide respiration gene clusters enables genetic bioaugmentation
Environ. Sci. Technol. 58 (9), 4214 - 4225 10.1021/acs.est.3c09171