title: Similar Microbial Consortia and Genes Are Involved in the Biodegradation of Benzalkonium Chlorides in Different Environments.
abstract: Benzalkonium chlorides (BACs) are emerging pollutants. Identification of microorganisms and the genes involved in the biodegradation of BACs is crucial for better understanding the fate of BACs in the environment and developing treatment strategies. Four microbial communities degrading BACs were developed from sewage (SEW), activated sludge (AS), soil (SOIL) and sea sediment (SEA) samples. According to 16S rRNA pyrosequencing and shotgun metagenome sequencing analyses, the most abundant species represented uncharacterized members of the Pseudomonas and Achromobacter genera. BAC biotransformation rates of the enriched microbial communities were 2.8, 3.2, 17.8, and 24.3 μM hr(-1) for SEA, AS, SOIL, and SEW, respectively, and were positively correlated with the relative abundance of a particular Pseudomonas sp. strain, BIOMIG1. The strain BIOMIG1 mineralizes BACs at a rate up to 2.40 μmol hr(-1) 10(-11) cells. Genomes of four BAC degrading and nondegrading BIOMIG1 phenotypes were sequenced and differentially compared with each other. As a result, a gene cluster encoding for transporters, an integrase and a dioxygenase were involved in BAC biotransformation. Our results suggest that BIOMIG1 plays a key role on the fate of BACs in the environment and genes, other than those reported to date, are involved in BAC biotransformation in various habitats.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Environmental Sciences, Bogazici University, Bebek 34342 Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Emine
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ertekin
authors.affiliation: School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology , Atlanta Georgia 30332-0512, United States.
authors.forename: Janet K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Hatt
authors.affiliation: School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology , Atlanta Georgia 30332-0512, United States.|School of Biology, Georgia Institute of Technology , Atlanta Georgia 30332-0512, United States.
authors.forename: Konstantinos T
authors.initials: KT
authors.lastname: Konstantinidis
authors.affiliation: Institute of Environmental Sciences, Bogazici University, Bebek 34342 Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ulas
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Tezel
mesh_terms: D001548:Benzalkonium Compounds / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D001711:Biotransformation; D054892:Metagenome; D059013:Microbial Consortia / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D011549:Pseudomonas / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D012722:Sewage / Q000737:chemistry / Q000382:microbiology; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D001548:Benzalkonium Compounds; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; D012722:Sewage; D012987:Soil; D012989:Soil Pollutants