Vertical distribution of dehalogenating bacteria in mangrove sediment and their potential to remove polybrominated diphenyl ether contamination

Pan, Ying; Chen, Juan; Zhou, Haichao; Farzana, Shazia; Tam, Nora F.Y.

Vertical distribution of dehalogenating bacteria in mangrove sediment and their potential to remove polybrominated diphenyl ether contamination

2017

Pan, Ying | Chen, Juan | Zhou, Haichao | Farzana, Shazia | Tam, Nora F.Y.

The removal and degradation of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in sediments are not clear. The vertical distribution of total and dehalogenating bacteria in sediment cores collected from a typical mangrove swamp in South China and their intrinsic degradation potential were investigated. These bacterial groups had the highest abundances in surface sediments (0–5cm). A 5-months microcosm experiment also showed that surface sediments had the highest rate to remove BDE-47 than deeper sediments (5–30cm) under anaerobic condition. The deeper sediments, being more anaerobic, had lower population of dehalogenating bacteria leading to a weaker BDE-47 removal potential than surface sediments. Stepwise multiple regression analysis indicated that Dehalococcoides spp. were the most important dehalogenating bacteria affecting the anaerobic removal of BDE-47 in mangrove sediments. This is the first study reporting that mangrove sediments harbored diverse groups of dehalogenating bacteria and had intrinsic potential to remove PBDE contamination.

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