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BIODEGRADATION OF PHTHALATE ESTERS BY CYANOBACTERIA 1
Author(s) -
Babu Bakthavachalam,
Wu JiunnTzong
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
journal of phycology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.85
H-Index - 127
eISSN - 1529-8817
pISSN - 0022-3646
DOI - 10.1111/j.1529-8817.2010.00896.x
Subject(s) - biodegradation , phthalate , cyanobacteria , anabaena , diethyl phthalate , environmental chemistry , dibutyl phthalate , strain (injury) , chromatography , chemistry , organic chemistry , biology , bacteria , genetics , anatomy
Phthalate esters (PEs) are endocrine‐disrupting pollutants that are ubiquitous in the environment and can be degraded by microorganisms. In this study, we investigated the kinetics and pathway of biodegradation of di‐ n ‐butyl phthalate (DBP), diethyl phthalate (DEP), and dimethyl phthalate (DMP) by cyanobacteria Anabaena flos‐aquae G. S. West (strain 4054) and two strains of Microcystis aeruginosa (Kütz.) Kütz. (strain 2396 and strain SM). Gas chromatography/mass spectroscopy (GC/MS) and a deuterium‐labeled compound were used to analyze the degrading intermediates. The findings revealed that all three organisms were capable of metabolizing PE, and that among these organisms, A. flos‐aquae achieved the highest degradation. Additionally, the biodegradation of DBP, DEP, and DMP followed first‐order kinetics. Moreover, the results of the enzymatic study suggested that PE was degraded through transesterification on the side chains rather than deesterification. Finally, experiments using deuterium‐labeled DBP showed that there were two degradation pathways: C 16 → C 14 → C 12 → C 10 → C 8 and C 16 → C 15 → C 13 → C 11 → C 9 . Based on our results, the biodegradation pathway of PE for cyanobacteria was suggested.