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Isolation and characterization of a novel Dehalobacter species strain TCP1 that reductively dechlorinates 2,4,6-trichlorophenol

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Abstract

Chlorophenols are widely used as biocides, leading them to being prevalent environmental contaminants that pose toxic threats to ecosystems. In this study, a Dehalobacter species strain TCP1 was isolated from a digester sludge sample, which is able to dechlorinate 2,4,6-trichlorophenol (2,4,6-TCP) to 4-monochlorophenol (4-MCP) with H2 as the sole electron donor and acetate as the carbon source. Strain TCP1 also distinguishes itself from other Dehalobacter species with its capability to dechlorinate tetrachloroethene or trichloroethene (TCE) to both cis- and trans-dichloroethenes in a ratio of 5.6 (±0.2):1. The growth yields of strain TCP1 on TCE and 2,4,6-TCP were 4.14 × 1013 and 5.77 × 1013 cells mol−1 of Cl− released, respectively. Strain TCP1 contains five unusually long 16S rRNA gene copies per genome, and the extra length is due to the ~110 bp insertion sequences at their 5′-ends. This suggests that strain TCP1 may represent a novel Dehalobacter species. A putative chlorophenol reductive dehalogenase gene—debcprA—was identified to catalyze the ortho-chlorine removal from 2,4,6-TCP. Both the culture-dependent and housekeeping rpoB gene-based approaches indicate the purity of the culture. Strain TCP1 can serve as a promising candidate for the bioremediation of 2,4,6-TCP contaminated sites, and its discovery expands our understanding of metabolic capabilities of Dehalobacter species.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by Singapore Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) of the Science and Engineering Research Council under Project No: 102 101 0025.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, National University of Singapore, Block E2-02-13, 1 Engineering Drive 3, Singapore, 117576, Singapore

    Shanquan Wang & Jianzhong He

  2. Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, 117576, Singapore

    Weijie Zhang & Kun-Lin Yang

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  1. Shanquan Wang
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  2. Weijie Zhang
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  4. Jianzhong He
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Correspondence to Jianzhong He.

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Wang, S., Zhang, W., Yang, KL. et al. Isolation and characterization of a novel Dehalobacter species strain TCP1 that reductively dechlorinates 2,4,6-trichlorophenol. Biodegradation 25, 313–323 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10532-013-9662-1

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