title: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) biodegradation potential and diversity of microbial consortia enriched from tsunami sediments in Miyagi, Japan.
abstract: The Great East Japan Earthquake caused tsunamis and resulted in widespread damage to human life and infrastructure. The disaster also resulted in contamination of the environment by chemicals such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). This study was conducted to investigate the degradation potential and describe the PAH-degrading microbial communities from tsunami sediments in Miyagi, Japan. PAH-degrading bacteria were cultured by enrichment using PAH mixture or pyrene alone as carbon and energy sources. Among the ten consortia tested for PAH mixture, seven completely degraded fluorene and more than 95% of phenanthrene in 10 days, while only four consortia partially degraded pyrene. Six consortia partially degraded pyrene as a single substrate. Polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) revealed that each sample was dominated by unique microbial populations, regardless of sampling location. The consortia were dominated by known PAHs degraders including Sphingomonas, Pseudomonas, and Sphingobium; and previously unknown degraders such as Dokdonella and Luteimonas. A potentially novel and PAH-degrading Dokdonella was detected for the first time. PAH-ring hydroxylating dioxygenase (PAH-RHDα) gene was shown to be more effective than nidA in estimating pyrene-degrading bacteria in the enriched consortia. The consortia obtained in this study are potential candidates for remediation of PAHs contaminated soils.
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Tohoku University, Aoba 6-6-20, Aramaki, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8579, Japan; Marine Science Institute, The University of Texas at Austin, 750 Channel View Drive, Port Aransas, TX 78373, United States. Electronic address: hernando.bacosa@utexas.edu.
authors.forename: Hernando Pactao
authors.initials: HP
authors.lastname: Bacosa
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Tohoku University, Aoba 6-6-20, Aramaki, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8579, Japan.
authors.forename: Chihiro
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Inoue
mesh_terms: D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D058645:Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis; D005449:Fluorenes / Q000737:chemistry; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000737:chemistry*; D007564:Japan; D059013:Microbial Consortia; D010616:Phenanthrenes / Q000737:chemistry; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / Q000737:chemistry*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D020560:Proteobacteria / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism*; D011721:Pyrenes / Q000737:chemistry; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000737:chemistry*; D057192:Tsunamis
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D005449:Fluorenes; D010616:Phenanthrenes; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons; D011721:Pyrenes; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; D012989:Soil Pollutants; C041509:fluorene; C031181:phenanthrene; C030984:pyrene
keywords: Biodegradation; Dokdonella; Microbial consortia; Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon; Tsunami