Search

Sorption to sediment black carbon (BC) may limit the aerobic biodegradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in resuspension events and intact sediment beds. We examined this hypothesis experimentally under conditions that were realistic in terms of oxygen concentrations and BC content. A new method, based on synchronous fluorescence observations of (14)C-pyrene, was developed for continuously measuring the uptake of dissolved pyrene by Mycobacterium gilvum VM552, a representative degrader of PAHs. The effect of oxygen and pyrene concentrations on pyrene uptake followed Michaelis-Menten kinetics, resulting in a dissolved oxygen half-saturation constant (K(om)) of 14.1 microM and a dissolved pyrene half-saturation constant (K(pm)) of 6 nM. The fluorescence of (14)C-pyrene in air-saturated suspensions of sediments and induced cells followed time courses that reflected simultaneous desorption and biodegradation of pyrene, ultimately causing a quasi-steady-state concentration of dissolved pyrene balancing desorptive inputs and biodegradation removals. The increasing concentrations of (14)CO(2) in these suspensions, as determined with liquid scintillation, evidenced the strong impact of sorption to BC-rich sediments on the biodegradation rate. Using the best-fit parameter values, we integrated oxygen and sorption effects and showed that oxygen tensions far below saturation levels in water are sufficient to enable significant decreases in the steady-state concentrations of aqueous-phase pyrene. These findings may be relevant for bioaccumulation scenarios that consider the effect of sediment resuspension events on exposure to water column and sediment pore water, as well as the direct uptake of PAHs from sediments.

The mineralization of phenanthrene in pure cultures of a Pseudomonas fluorescens strain, isolated from soil, was measured in the presence of soil humic fractions and montmorillonite. Humic acid and clay, either separately or in combination, shortened the acclimation phase. A higher mineralization rate was measured in treatments with humic acid at 100 microg/ml. Humic acid at 10 microg/ml stimulated the transformation only in the presence of 10 g of clay per liter. We suggest that sorption of phenanthrene to these soil components may result in a higher concentration of substrate in the vicinity of the bacterial cells and therefore may increase its bioavailability.

The mineralization by an Arthrobacter sp. of naphthalene initially dissolved in di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate exhibited a slow phase followed by a rapid phase. Triton X-100, which inhibited cell attachment, prevented the onset of the second phase. Triton X-100 increased the extent of mineralization of naphthalene initially present in 2,2,4,4,6,8,8-heptamethylnonane. Cells attached to the interface mineralized the aromatic hydrocarbon at a rate four times higher than the rate of partitioning in the absence of microorganisms, but this microbial activity was markedly reduced by Triton X-100. We suggest that utilization of naphthalene originally present in nonaqueous-phase liquids may involve a partitioning-limited initial stage carried out by bacteria freely suspended in the aqueous phase and a subsequent, more rapid stage effected by bacteria present directly at the nonaqueous-liquid-water interface.