title: Microcosm study on fate of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in contaminated mangrove sediment.
abstract: Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are toxic and ubiquitous environmental contaminants, but their fate in aquatic environments is not clear. A mangrove microcosm study was employed to investigate the fate of two abundant congeners, BDE-47 and BDE-209, in contaminated sediment. After seven months, more than 90% of the spiked BDE-47 in the mangrove sediment was removed with the formation of lower brominated PBDEs, including BDE-28, -17, -15, -8, -7/4, suggesting that microbial debromination was the main contributor. Debromination of BDE-209 was also observed in the sediment but its dissipation rate was significantly lower than BDE-47. All these congeners were taken up, translocated and accumulated into the tissues of two typical mangrove plants, Kandelia obovata and Avicennia marina. PBDEs, even at very high contamination levels, in the sediment (5000ngg(-1)) and the debrominated congeners did not pose any adverse effect on the dry weight, augmentation and root/shoot ratio of either mangrove species. This is the first study to reveal that anaerobic microbial debromination and uptake by mangrove plants are the key processes controlling the fate of PBDEs in mangrove sediment.
authors: Department of Biology and Chemistry, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
authors: Haowen
authors: H
authors: Zhu
authors: Department of Biology and Chemistry, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
authors: Ying
authors: Y
authors: Wang
authors: Department of Biology and Chemistry, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region; State Key Laboratory in Marine Pollution, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Electronic address: bhntam@cityu.edu.hk.
authors: Nora F Y
authors: NF
authors: Tam
mesh_terms: D032407:Avicennia / Q000378:metabolism*; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000032:analysis / Q000382:microbiology*; D055768:Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*; D043982:Rhizophoraceae / Q000378:metabolism*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D055768:Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; C511295:2,2',4,4'-tetrabromodiphenyl ether; C010902:decabromobiphenyl ether
keywords: Contamination; Debromination; Mangroves; PBDE congeners; Plant uptake