Biodegradation of 1,4-dioxane: effects of enzyme inducers and trichloroethylene. Academic Article uri icon

abstract

  • 1,4-Dioxane is a groundwater contaminant and probable human carcinogen. In this study, two well-studied degradative bacteria Mycobacterium vaccae JOB5 and Rhodococcus jostii RHA1 were examined for their 1,4-dioxane degradation ability in the presence and absence of its co-contaminant, trichloroethylene (TCE), under different oxygenase-expression conditions. These two strains were precultured with R2A broth (complex nutrient medium) before supplementation with propane or 1-butanol to induce the expression of different oxygenases. Both propane- and 1-butanol-induced JOB5 and RHA1 were able to degrade 1,4-dioxane, TCE, and mixtures of 1,4-dioxane/TCE. Complete degradation of 1,4-dioxane/TCE mixture was observed only in propane-induced strain JOB5. Inhibition was observed between 1,4-dioxane and TCE for all cells. Furthermore, product toxicity caused incomplete degradation of 1,4-dioxane by 1-butanol-induced JOB5. In general, the more TCE degraded, the greater extent of product toxicity cells experienced; however, susceptibility to product toxicity was found to be both strain- and inducer-dependent. The findings of this study provide fundamental basis for developing an effective in-situ remediation method for 1,4-dioxane-contaminated ground water and the first known study of 1,4-dioxane degradation by wild-type strain RHA1.

published proceedings

  • Sci Total Environ

altmetric score

  • 3

author list (cited authors)

  • Hand, S., Wang, B., & Chu, K.

citation count

  • 59

complete list of authors

  • Hand, Steven||Wang, Baixin||Chu, Kung-Hui

publication date

  • January 2015