Project description:Organohalide-respiring Dehalococcoidia bacteria are one of the few microorganisms capable of transforming chlorinated solvents to benign ethene in anoxic environments. The tceA gene found in these bacteria, coding the trichloroethene-dechlorinating RDase TceA, is frequently detected in contaminated groundwater but not recognized as a biomarker for vinyl chloride detoxification. Here, we demonstrate that the tceA-carrying Dehalococcoides mccartyi (Dhc) strains FL2 and 195 grow with VC as electron acceptor when sufficient vitamin B12 is provided. Global proteomic profiling confirmed the predominant TceA expression in VC-grown Dhc FL2 cells, providing a line of evidence for the implication of TceA in respiratory VC reductive dechlorination.
Project description:Meta-Analyses of Dehalococcoides mccartyi Strain 195 Transcriptomic Profiles Identify a Respiration Rate-Related Gene Expression Transition Point and Interoperon Recruitment of a Key Oxidoreductase Subunit
Project description:Development of a Fluorescence-Activated Cell Sorting Method Coupled with Whole Genome Amplification To Analyze Minority and Trace Dehalococcoides Genomes in Microbial Communities
Project description:Dehalococcoides mccartyi obligately depends on organohalide respiration for energy conservation and growth. The genome of strain CBDB1 encodes 32 reductive dehalogenases, which enable the reductive dehalogenation of a broad range of halogenated compounds. It is one of the few strains able to respire chlorinated benzenes. The differential transcriptional response of the dehalogenase-encoding and –associated genes to halogenated aromatic compounds has so far not been studied on a genome-wide level. To understand the global transcriptional response to specific halogenated aromatic compounds, we analyzed and compared the transcriptomes during growth with 1,2,3- and 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene (TCB).
Project description:Arsenic and trichloroethene (TCE) are among the most prevalent groundwater contaminants in the United States. Co-contamination of these two compounds has been detected at 63% of current TCE-contaminated National Priorities List sites. When in situ TCE reductive dechlorination is stimulated by the addition of fermentable substrates to generate a reducing environment, the presence of arsenic can be problematic because of the potential for increased mobilization and toxicity caused by the reduction of arsenate [As(V)] to arsenite [As(III)]. This study assesses the effects of arsenic exposure on the TCE-dechlorinating activities of Dehalococcoides mccartyi strain 195. Our results indicate that 9.1 μM As(III) caused a 50% decrease in D. mccartyi cell growth. While As(V) concentrations up to 200 μM did not initially impact TCE dechlorination, inhibition was observed in cultures amended with 200 μM As(V) and 100 μM As(V) in 12 and 17 days, respectively, corresponding with the accumulation of As(III). Transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses were performed to evaluate cellular responses to both As(V) and As(III) stress. Amendment of amino acids enhanced arsenic tolerance of D. mccartyi. Results from this study improve our understanding of potential inhibitions of D. mccartyi metabolism caused by arsenic and can inform the design of bioremediation strategies at co-contaminated sites.
Project description:Iron sulfide (FeS) nanoparticles have great potential in environmental remediation. Using the representative species Dehalococcoides mccartyi strain 195 (Dhc 195), the effect of FeS on trichloroethene (TCE) dechlorination was studied with hydrogen and acetate as the electron donor and carbon source, respectively. With the addition of 0.2 mM Fe2+ and S2-, the dechlorination rate of TCE was enhanced from 25.46 ± 1.15 to 37.84 ± 1.89 μmol⋅L-1⋅day-1 by the in situ formed FeS nanoparticles, as revealed through X-ray diffraction. Comparing the tceA gene copy numbers between with FeS and without FeS, real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) indicated that the abundance of the tceA gene increased from (2.83 ± 0.13) × 107 to (4.27 ± 0.21) × 108 copies/ml on day 12. The transcriptional activity of key genes involved in the electron transport chain was upregulated after the addition of FeS, including those responsible for the iron-sulfur cluster assembly protein gene (DET1632) and transmembrane transport of iron (DET1503, DET0685), cobalamin (DET0685, DET1139), and molybdenum (DET1161) genes. Meanwhile, the reverse transcription of tceA was increased approximately five times on the 12th day. These upregulations together suggested that the electron transport of D. mccartyi strain 195 was enhanced by FeS for apparent TCE dechlorination. Overall, the present study provided an eco-friendly and effective method to achieve high remediation efficiency for organohalide-polluted groundwater and soil.
Project description:Corrinoids are essential cofactors of reductive dehalogenases in Dehalococcoides mccartyi, an important bacterium in bioremediation, yet sequenced D. mccartyi strains do not possess the complete pathway for de novo corrinoid biosynthesis. Pelosinus sp. and Desulfovibrio sp. have been detected in dechlorinating communities enriched from contaminated groundwater without exogenous cobalamin corrinoid. To investigate the corrinoid-related interactions among key members of these communities, we constructed consortia by growing D. mccartyi strain 195 (Dhc195) in cobalamin-free, trichloroethene (TCE)- and lactate-amended medium in cocultures with Desulfovibrio vulgaris Hildenborough (DvH) or Pelosinus fermentans R7 (PfR7) and with both in tricultures. Only the triculture exhibited sustainable dechlorination and cell growth when a physiological level of 5,6-dimethylbenzimidazole (DMB), the lower ligand of cobalamin, was provided. In the triculture, DvH provided hydrogen while PfR7 provided corrinoids to Dhc195, and the initiation of dechlorination and Dhc195 cell growth was highly dependent on the growth of PfR7. Corrinoid analysis indicated that Dhc195 imported and remodeled the phenolic corrinoids produced by PfR7 into cobalamin in the presence of DMB. Transcriptomic analyses of Dhc195 showed the induction of the CbiZ-dependent corrinoid-remodeling pathway and BtuFCD corrinoid ABC transporter genes during corrinoid salvaging and remodeling. In contrast, another operon annotated to encode a putative iron/cobalamin ABC transporter (DET1174-DET1176) was induced when cobalamin was exogenously provided. Interestingly, a global upregulation of phage-related genes was observed when PfR7 was present. These findings provide insights into both the gene regulation of corrinoid salvaging and remodeling in Dhc195 when it is grown without exogenous cobalamin and microbe-to-microbe interactions in dechlorinating microbial communities.