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Carbon and hydrogen isotope fractionation during aerobic biodegradation of quinoline and 3-methylquinoline

  • Environmental biotechnology
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Abstract

Compound-specific isotope analysis has been used extensively to investigate the biodegradation of various organic pollutants. To date, little isotope fractionation information is available for the biodegradation of quinolinic compounds. In this study, we report on the carbon and hydrogen isotope fractionation during quinoline and 3-methylquinoline aerobic microbial degradation by a Comamonas sp. strain Q10. Degradation of quinoline and 3-methylquinoline was accompanied by isotope fractionation. Large hydrogen and small carbon isotope fractionation was observed for quinoline while minor carbon and hydrogen isotope fractionation effects occurred for 3-methylquinoline. Bulk carbon and hydrogen enrichment factors (ε bulk) for quinoline biodegradation were −1.2 ± 0.1 and −38 ± 1‰, respectively, while −0.7 ± 0.1 and −5 ± 1‰ for 3-methylquinoline, respectively. This reveals a potential advantage for employing quinoline as the model compound and hydrogen isotope analysis for assessing aerobic biodegradation of quinolinic compounds. The apparent kinetic isotope effects (AKIEC) values of carbon were 1.008 ± 0.0005 for quinoline and 1.0048 ± 0.0005 for 3-methylquinoline while AKIEH values of hydrogen of 1.264 ± 0.011 for quinoline and 1.0356 ± 0.0103 for 3-methylquinoline were obtained. The combined evaluation of carbon and hydrogen isotope fractionation yields Λ values (Λ = Δδ2H/Δδ13C ≈ εHbulk/εCbulk) of 29 ± 2 for quinoline and 8 ± 2 for 3-methylquinoline. The results indicate that the substrate specificity may have a significant influence on the isotope fractionation for the biodegradation of quinolinic compounds. The substrate-specific isotope enrichment factors would be important for assessing the behavior and fate of quinolinic compounds in the environment.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC- 41271460 and 40901250).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guangzhou University, No. 230 WaiHuanXi Road, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center, Guangzhou, 510006, China

    Mingchao Cui, Jun Fang, Qianqiong Liang & Dongxuan Liu

  2. Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Radioactive Contamination Control and Resources, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, 510006, China

    Mingchao Cui

  3. State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510640, China

    Wenbing Zhang

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  1. Mingchao Cui
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Correspondence to Mingchao Cui or Wenbing Zhang.

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Cui, M., Zhang, W., Fang, J. et al. Carbon and hydrogen isotope fractionation during aerobic biodegradation of quinoline and 3-methylquinoline. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 101, 6563–6572 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-017-8379-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-017-8379-1

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