Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: Hexachlorobutadiene (HCBD), a persistent organic pollutant (POP), poses a significant threat to ecological environments and human health. While anaerobic microbial transformation is a promising remediation strategy, the specific microorganisms and metabolic mechanisms involved have remained poorly understood. This study demonstrates the successful enrichment of an anaerobic microbial consortium from river sediment, with lactate as an electron donor, capable of transforming HCBD. Within 240 days, 62.5 μmol of HCBD was sequentially dechlorinated through pentachlorobutadiene (PCBD), tetrachlorobutadiene (TeCBD), trichlorobutadiene (TCBD), and dichlorobutadiene (DCBD) to chlorobutadiene (CBD). Co-amendment with HCBD and trichloroethene (TCE) resulted in complete removal of both compounds. 16S rRNA gene sequencing and quantitative PCR showed enrichment of Dehalococcoides , linking its population growth to HCBD and TCE dechlorination. This study demonstrates that Dehalococcoides growth was associated with HCBD transformation in the enrichment cultures, broadens our understanding of the metabolic capabilities of Dehalococcoides , and identifies a candidate gene for this important environmental process, offering valuable insights for the bioremediation of sites contaminated with HCBD.
Institutions: University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Applied Ecology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry, Beijing Institute of Petrochemical Technology, Sun Yat-sen University, Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Control and Remediation Technology, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Meteorological Bureau, Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Language: English
Subfield: Pollution
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
Awards: G5872562082, G8036822820
OpenAlex ID: W7222882171