Abstract
Organohalides are recalcitrant pollutants that have been responsible for substantial contamination of soils and groundwater. Organohalide-respiring bacteria (ORB) provide a potential solution to remediate contaminated sites, through their ability to use organohalides as terminal electron acceptors to yield energy for growth (i.e., organohalide respiration). Ideally, this process results in non- or lesser-halogenated compounds that are mostly less toxic to the environment or more easily degraded. At the heart of these processes are reductive dehalogenases (RDases), which are membrane bound enzymes coupled with other components that facilitate dehalogenation of organohalides to generate cellular energy. This review focuses on RDases, concentrating on those which have been purified (partially or wholly) and functionally characterized. Further, the paper reviews the major bacteria involved in organohalide breakdown and the evidence for microbial evolution of RDases. Finally, the capacity for using ORB in a bioremediation and bioaugmentation capacity are discussed.
Highlights
Reviewed by: Jun-Jie Zhang, Wuhan Institute of Virology, China Christopher L
This review focuses on reductive dehalogenases (RDases), concentrating on those which have been purified and functionally characterized
Organohalide contamination of land and water which is of anthropogenic origin is widespread and poses significant potential danger related to their adverse impacts on health and effects on ecosystems
Summary
Organohalide-respiring bacteria (ORB) provide a potential solution to remediate contaminated sites, through their ability to use organohalides as terminal electron acceptors to yield energy for growth (i.e., organohalide respiration). This process results in non- or lesser-halogenated compounds that are mostly less toxic to the environment or more degraded. Only a limited number of RDases that can dechlorinate PCE (PceA), TCE (TceA), and VC (VcrA) have been biochemically characterized (Table 1) Another group of organohalide pollutants are chlorinated ethanes, such as tetrachloroethane (TeCA), trichloroethane (TCA), and dichloroethane (DCA). Some ORB have been identified that can utilize these organohalides as terminal electron acceptors, and some RDases responsible for their reductive dehalogenation have been reported
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