Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

The role of salicylate and biosurfactant in inducing phenanthrene degradation in batch soil slurries

  • Environmental Biotechnology
  • Published:
Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The majority of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) sorb strongly to soil organic matter posing a complex barrier to biodegradation. Biosurfactants can increase soil-sorbed PAHs desorption, solubilisation, and dissolution into the aqueous phase, which increases the bioavailability of PAHs for microbial metabolism. In this study, biosurfactants, carbon sources, and metabolic pathway inducers were tested as stimulators of microorganism degradation. Phenanthrene served as a model PAH and Pseudomonas putida ATCC 17484 was used as the phenanthrene degrading microorganism for the liquid solutions and soil used in this investigation. Bench-scale trials demonstrated that the addition of rhamnolipid biosurfactant increases the apparent aqueous solubility of phenanthrene, and overall degradation by at least 20% when combined with salicylate or glucose in liquid solution, when compared to solutions that contained salicylate or glucose with no biosurfactant. However, salicylate addition, with no biosurfactant addition, increased the total degradation of phenanthrene 30% more than liquid systems with only biosurfactant addition. In soil slurries, small amounts of biosurfactant (0.25 g/L) showed a significant increase in total removal when only biosurfactant was added. In soil slurries containing salicylate, the effects of biosurfactant additions were negligible as there was greater than 90% removal, regardless of the biosurfactant concentration. The results of experiments performed in this study provide further evidence that an in situ enhancement strategy for phenanthrene degradation could focus on providing additional carbon substrates to induce metabolic pathway catabolic enzyme production, if degradation pathway intermediates are known.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Basu A, Das D, Bapat P, Wangikar PP, Phale PS (2009) Sequential utilization of substrates by Pseudomonas putida CSV86: Signatures of intermediate metabolites and online measurements. Microbiol Res 164:8

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cerniglia CE (1993) Biodegradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Curr Opin Biotechnol 4:331–338

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chauhan A, Fazlurrahman, Oakeshott J, Jain R (2008) Bacterial metabolism of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: strategies for bioremediation. Indian J Microbiol 48:95–113

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chen S-H, Aitken MD (1999) Salicylate stimulates the degradation of high-molecular weight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by Pseudomonas saccharophila P15. Environ Technol 33:435–439

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cho H-H, Choi J, Goltz MN, Park J-W (2002) Combined effect of natural organic matter and surfactants on the apparent solubility of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. J Environ Qual 31:275–280

    Google Scholar 

  • Cho HY, Seung HW, Jong MP (2006) Effects of intermediate metabolites on phenanthrene biodegradation. J Microbiol Biotechnol 16:969–973

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dean SM, Jin Y, Cha DK, Wilson SV, Radosevich M (2001) Phenanthrene degradation in soils co-inoculated with phenanthrene-degrading and biosurfactant-producing bacteria. J Environ Qual 30:1126–1133

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Eaton RW, Chapman PJ (1992) Bacterial metabolism of naphthalene: Construction and use of recombinant bacteria to study ring cleavage of 1, 2-dihydroxynaphthalene and subsequent reactions. J Bacteriol 174:7542–7554

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Grimm AC, Harwood CS (1997) Chemotaxis of Pseudomonas spp. to the polyaromatic hydrocarbon naphthalene. Appl Environ Microbiol 63:4111–4115

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Johnsen AR, Wick LY, Harms H (2005) Principles of microbial PAH-degradation in soil. Environ Pollut 133:71–84

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kiyohara H, Torigoe S, Kaida N, Asaki T, Iida T, Hayashi H, Takizawa N (1994) Cloning and characterization of a chromosomal gene cluster, PAH, that encodes the upper pathway for phenanthrene and naphthalene utilization by Pseudomonas putida OUS82. J Bacteriol 176:2439–2443

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kraaij RH, Ciarelli S, Tolls J, Kater BJ, Belfroid A (2001) Bioavailability of lab-contaminated and native polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons to the amphipod Corophium volutator relates to chemical desorption. Environ Toxicol Chem 20:1716–1724

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Labana S, Manisha K, Deepak M, Dhan P, R.K. J (2007) Diversity, biodegradation and bioremediation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. In: Singh SN, Tripathi RD (eds) Environmental bioremediation technologies. Springer, Berlin, pp 409–443

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Laha S, Tansel B, Ussawarujikulchai A (2009) Surfactant-soil interactions during surfactant-amended remediation of contaminated soils by hydrophobic organic compounds: a review. J Environ Manag 90:6

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lee K, Park J-W, Ahn I-S (2003) Effect of additional carbon source on naphthalene biodegradation by Pseudomonas putida G7. J Hazard Mater 105:157–167

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lee DS, Lee MW, Woo SH, Park JM (2005) Effects of salicylate and glucose on biodegradation of phenanthrene by Burkholderia cepacia PM07. J Microbiol Biotechnol 15:859–865

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Marx RB, Aitken MD (2000) Bacterial chemotaxis enhances naphthalene degradation in a heterogeneous aqueous system. Environ Technol 34:3379–3383

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mulder H, Breure AM, Rulkens WH (2001) Application of a mechanistic desorption-biodegradation model to describe the behavior of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in peat soil aggregates. Chemosphere 42:285–299

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ogunseitan OA, Olson BH (1993) Effect of 2-hydroxybenzoate on the rate of naphthalene mineralization in soil. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 38:799–807

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ortega-Calvo JJ, Marchenko AI, Vorobyov AV, Borovick RV (2003) Chemotaxis in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria isolated from coal-tar- and oil-polluted rhizospheres. FEMS Microbiol Ecol 44:373–381

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Platt A, Shingler V, Taylor SC, Williams PA (1995) The 4-hydroxy-2-oxovalerate aldolase and acetaldehyde dehydrogenase (acylating) encoded by the nahM and nahO genes of the naphthalene catabolic plasmid pWW60-22 provide further evidence of conservation of meta-cleavage pathway gene sequences. Microbiology 141:2223–2233

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Powell SN, Singleton DR, Aitken MD (2008) Effects of enrichment with salicylate on bacterial selection and pah mineralization in a microbial community from a bioreactor treating contaminated soil. Environ Sci Technol 42:4099–4105

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Prabhu Y, Phale PS (2003) Biodegradation of phenanthrene by Pseudomonas sp. strain PP2: novel metabolic pathway, role of biosurfactant and cell surface hydrophobicity in hydrocarbon assimilation. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 61:342–351

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Roskam GD, Comans RNJ (2009) Availability and leaching of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: controlling processes and comparison of testing methods. Waste Manag 29:6

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Samanta SK, Chakraborti AK, Jain RK (1999) Degradation of phenanthrene by different bacteria: evidence for novel transformation sequences involving the formation of 1-naphthol. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 53:98–107

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Samanta SK, Singh OV, Jain RK (2002) Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: environmental pollution and bioremediation. Trends Biotech 20:243–248

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schlebaum W, Schraa G, van Riemsdijk WH (1999) Influence of nonlinear sorption kinetics on the slow-desorbing organic contaminant fraction in soil. Environ Sci Technol 33:1413–1417

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wang P, Keller AA (2008) Partitioning of hydrophobic organic compounds within soil–water–surfactant systems. Water Res 42:2093–2101

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wick LY, Colangelo T, Harms H (2001) Kinetics of mass transfer-limited bacterial growth on solid PAHs. Environ Technol 35:354–361

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Woo S, Jeon C, Park J (2004a) phenanthrene biodegradation in soil slurry systems: influence of salicylate and triton X-100. Korean J Chem Eng 21:412–418

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Woo SH, Lee MW, Park JM (2004b) Biodegradation of phenanthrene in soil-slurry systems with different mass transfer regimes and soil contents. J Biotechnol 110:235–250

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yen KM, Serdar CM (1988) Genetics of naphthalene catabolism in pseudomonads. Crit Rev Microbiol 15:247–268

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhou W, Zhu L (2005) Distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in soil-water system containing a nonionic surfactant. Chemosphere 60:1237–1245

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhou W, Zhu L (2007) Efficiency of surfactant-enhanced desorption for contaminated soils depending on the component characteristics of soil-surfactant-PAHs system. Environ Pollut 147:66–73

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhu L, Zhou W (2008) Partitioning of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons to solid-sorbed nonionic surfactants. Environ Pollut 152:130–137

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhu L, Chen B, Tao S, Chiou CT (2003) Interactions of organic contaminants with mineral-adsorbed surfactants. Environ Technol 37:4001–4006

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The University of Auckland financial grants through projects 9272/3622601 and 9572/3609571; the lead author of the paper also had funding provided by the New Zealand Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Auckland, 20 Symonds Street, Auckland, 1010, New Zealand

    Avery Gottfried, Naresh Singhal & Roy Elliot

  2. Department of Molecular Medicine and Pathology, University of Auckland, 85 Park Road, Grafton, 1142, Auckland, New Zealand

    Simon Swift

  3. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The University of Auckland, Private Bay 92019, Auckland, New Zealand

    Naresh Singhal

Authors
  1. Avery Gottfried
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Naresh Singhal
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Roy Elliot
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Simon Swift
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Naresh Singhal.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Gottfried, A., Singhal, N., Elliot, R. et al. The role of salicylate and biosurfactant in inducing phenanthrene degradation in batch soil slurries. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 86, 1563–1571 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-010-2453-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-010-2453-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation