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Degradation and metagenomic analysis of 4-chlorophenol utilizing multiple metal tolerant bacterial consortium

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Abstract

Chlorophenols are persistent environmental pollutants used in synthesizing dyes, drugs, pesticides, and other industrial products. The chlorophenols released from these processes seriously threaten the environment and human health. The present study describes 4-chlorophenol (4-CP) degradation activity and metagenome structure of a bacterial consortium enriched in a 4-CP-containing medium. The consortium utilized 4-CP as a single carbon source at a wide pH range, temperature, and in the presence of heavy metals. The immobilized consortium retained its degradation capacity for an extended period. The 4-aminoantipyrine colorimetric analysis revealed complete mineralization of 4-CP up to 200 mg/L concentration and followed the zero-order kinetics. The addition of glycerol and yeast extract enhanced the degradation efficiency. The consortium showed both ortho- and meta-cleavage activity of catechol dioxygenase. Whole genome sequence (WGS) analysis revealed the microbial compositions and functional genes related to xenobiotic degradation pathways. The identified genes were mapped on the KEGG database to construct the 4-CP degradation pathway. The results exhibited the high potential of the consortium for bioremediation of 4-CP contaminated sites. To our knowledge, this is the first report on WGS analysis of a 4-CP degrading bacterial consortium.

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Acknowledgements

Authors are thankful to the Biochemistry Department of North Eastern Hill University, India for providing an infrastructural facility for completing this study. Fellowship grant from Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Govt. of India to LK (19/06/2016(i)EU-V) is gratefully acknowledged.

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  1. Department of Biochemistry, North Eastern Hill University, Shillong, Meghalaya, 793022, India

    Lhinglamkim Kipgen, Ningombam Anjana Singha, Waniabha J. Lyngdoh, Jopthiaw Nongdhar & Arvind Kumar Singh

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  1. Lhinglamkim Kipgen
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  2. Ningombam Anjana Singha
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  3. Waniabha J. Lyngdoh
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  4. Jopthiaw Nongdhar
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  5. Arvind Kumar Singh
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Contributions

AKS, LK, and NAS designed the study. LK performed the detailed experiments with help from JN. LKand WJL performed bioinformatic analysis. AKS and LK prepared the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Arvind Kumar Singh.

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Kipgen, L., Singha, N.A., Lyngdoh, W.J. et al. Degradation and metagenomic analysis of 4-chlorophenol utilizing multiple metal tolerant bacterial consortium. World J Microbiol Biotechnol 40, 56 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11274-023-03855-2

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