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Trichloroethylene cometabolic degradation by Rhodococcus sp. L4 induced with plant essential oils

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Abstract

Cometabolic degradation of TCE by toluene-degrading bacteria has the potential for being a cost-effective bioremediation technology. However, the application of toluene may pose environmental problems. In this study, several plant essential oils and their components were examined as alternative inducer for TCE cometabolic degradation in a toluene-degrading bacterium, Rhodococcus sp. L4. Using the initial TCE concentration of 80 μM, lemon and lemongrass oil-grown cells were capable of 20 ± 6% and 27 ± 8% TCE degradation, which were lower than that of toluene-grown cells (57 ± 5%). The ability of TCE degradation increased to 36 ± 6% when the bacterium was induced with cumin oil. The induction of TCE-degrading enzymes was suggested to be due to the presence of citral, cumin aldehyde, cumene, and limonene in these essential oils. In particular, the efficiency of cumin aldehyde and cumene as inducers for TCE cometabolic degradation was similar to toluene. TCE transformation capacities (T c) for these induced cells were between 9.4 and 15.1 μg of TCE mg cells−1, which were similar to the known toluene, phenol, propane or ammonia degraders. Since these plant essential oils are abundant and considered non-toxic to humans, they may be applied to stimulate TCE degradation in the environment.

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Acknowledgements

The study was financially supported by the National Center of Excellence for Environmental and Hazardous Waste Management (NCE-EHWM) and the 90th Anniversary of Chulalongkorn University Fund, Chulalongkorn University. The authors wish to thank the Environmental Research Institute, Chulalongkorn University, for the support on scientific instruments and laboratory.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. International Postgraduate Programs in Environmental Management (Hazardous Waste Management), Graduate School, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand

    Oramas Suttinun

  2. National Center of Excellence for Environmental and Hazardous Waste Management (NCE-EHWM), Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand

    Oramas Suttinun & Ekawan Luepromchai

  3. Institute of Technical Biocatalysis, Technical University Hamburg-Harburg, Denickestrasse 15, 21071, Hamburg, Germany

    Rudolf Müller

  4. Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand

    Ekawan Luepromchai

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  1. Oramas Suttinun
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  2. Rudolf Müller
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  3. Ekawan Luepromchai
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Correspondence to Ekawan Luepromchai.

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Suttinun, O., Müller, R. & Luepromchai, E. Trichloroethylene cometabolic degradation by Rhodococcus sp. L4 induced with plant essential oils. Biodegradation 20, 281–291 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10532-008-9220-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10532-008-9220-4

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