title: Vertical distribution of dehalogenating bacteria in mangrove sediment and their potential to remove polybrominated diphenyl ether contamination.
abstract: The removal and degradation of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in sediments are not clear. The vertical distribution of total and dehalogenating bacteria in sediment cores collected from a typical mangrove swamp in South China and their intrinsic degradation potential were investigated. These bacterial groups had the highest abundances in surface sediments (0-5cm). A 5-months microcosm experiment also showed that surface sediments had the highest rate to remove BDE-47 than deeper sediments (5-30cm) under anaerobic condition. The deeper sediments, being more anaerobic, had lower population of dehalogenating bacteria leading to a weaker BDE-47 removal potential than surface sediments. Stepwise multiple regression analysis indicated that Dehalococcoides spp. were the most important dehalogenating bacteria affecting the anaerobic removal of BDE-47 in mangrove sediments. This is the first study reporting that mangrove sediments harbored diverse groups of dehalogenating bacteria and had intrinsic potential to remove PBDE contamination.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology and Chemistry, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China; State Key Laboratory in Marine Pollution, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Integrated Regulation and Resource Department on Shallow Lakes, Ministry of Education, College of Environment, Hohai University, Xikang Road, Nanjing 210098, China.
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory in Marine Pollution, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China; Futian-CityU Mangrove R&D Centre, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China.
authors.forename: Haichao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology and Chemistry, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China; State Key Laboratory in Marine Pollution, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China.
authors.forename: Shazia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Farzana
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology and Chemistry, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China; State Key Laboratory in Marine Pollution, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China. Electronic address: bhntam@cityu.edu.hk.
authors.forename: Nora F Y
authors.initials: NFY
authors.lastname: Tam
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000378:metabolism*; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D002681:China; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000382:microbiology*; D055768:Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers / Q000378:metabolism*; D054879:Halogenation; D012988:Soil Microbiology; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000378:metabolism*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000378:metabolism*; D053833:Wetlands
chemical_list: D055768:Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers; D012989:Soil Pollutants; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; C511295:2,2',4,4'-tetrabromodiphenyl ether
keywords: Anaerobic degradation; Functional bacteria; Mangrove; PBDEs