Biodegradation of biphenyl and removal of 2-chlorobiphenyl by Pseudomonas sp. KM-04 isolated from PCBs-contaminated mine impacted soil

The aim of the present study is to remediate the PCBs contaminated mine soil using microcosm study. For that, the naturally occurring microorganisms are stimulated and enriched in soil itself by supplementing biphenyl as well as benzoic acid. As a result the biphenyl degrading organisms are induced to degrade the PCBs contamination. From the stimulated soil, the biphenyl degrading organisms are isolated and degraded metabolites are elucidated. Pseudomonas sp. strain KM-04 was isolated from PCBs-contaminated soil in a coal mine-impacted area, and identification of bacteria was done by sequencing the 16S rRNA gene analysis. The growth of Pseudomonas sp. strain KM-04 using biphenyl as the sole carbon source was investigated by culturing in 100-mL Erlenmeyer flasks containing 10 ml sterilized MSM and 10 μg/ml biphenyl, and the ability of KM-04 to remove biphenyl and 2-chlorobiphenyl from mine soil was investigated. Metabolite formation was confirmed by liquid chromatography/atmospheric pressure chemical ionization-mass spectrometric analysis. Pseudomonas sp. strain KM-04 uses biphenyl as a sole carbon and energy source, and resting cells convert biphenyl to its metabolic intermediates, including dihydroxybiphenyl, 2-hydroxy-6-oxo-6-phenylhexa-2,4-dienoic acid, and benzoic acid. Incubation of real soil collected from abandoned mine areas with resting cells of Pseudomonas sp. strain KM-04 for 10 days resulted in the 98.5 % of biphenyl and 82.3 % of 2-chlorobiphenyl in a slurry system. The ability of the Pseudomonas sp. strain KM-04 to bioremediate biphenyl and 2-chlorobiphenyl from abandoned mine soil was examined using soil microcosm studies under laboratory conditions. Treatment of mine soil with the Pseudomonas sp. strain KM-04 for 15 days resulted in 87.1 % reduction in biphenyl and 68.7 % in 2-chlorobiphenyl contents. The results suggest that Pseudomonas sp. strain KM-04 is a potential candidate for the biological removal of biphenyl and chlorinated derivatives from polychlorinated biphenyls-contaminated mine-impacted areas. To our knowledge, this is the first reported isolation of a strain capable of degrading biphenyl from PCBs-contaminated soil in mine-impacted areas.