Anne-Marie Delort

Environmental biodegradation of polyethylene

The degradation of a commercial environmentally degradable polyethylene was investigated in two stages. Firstly by abiotic oxidation in an air oven to simulate the effect of the compost environment and secondly in the presence of selected microorganisms. Initial biofilm formation was followed by fluorescence microscopy and the subsequent growth of bacteria on the surface of the plastic was observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It was observed that microbial growth occurred on the presence of PE samples that had been compression moulded to thick sections but had not been deliberately pre-oxidised. Molecular enlargement and broadening of molecular weight distribution occurred after preheating in air at 60 C but not at ambient temperatures but colonisation of microorganisms occurred on all samples. Erosion of the film surface was observed in the vicinity of the microorganisms and the decay of oxidation products in the surface of the polymer film was measured by FTIR measurements and was found to be associated with the formation of protein and polysaccharides, attributable to the growth of the microorganisms. # 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Potential impact of microbial activity on the oxidant capacity and organic carbon budget in clouds.

Within cloud water, microorganisms are metabolically active and, thus, are expected to contribute to the atmospheric chemistry. This article investigates the interactions between microorganisms and the reactive oxygenated species that are present in cloud water because these chemical compounds drive the oxidant capacity of the cloud system. Real cloud water samples with contrasting features (marine, continental, and urban) were taken from the puy de Dôme mountain (France). The samples exhibited a high microbial biodiversity and complex chemical composition. The media were incubated in the dark and subjected to UV radiation in specifically designed photo-bioreactors. The concentrations of H2O2, organic compounds, and the ATP/ADP ratio were monitored during the incubation period. The microorganisms remained metabolically active in the presence of ●OH radicals that were photo-produced from H2O2. This oxidant and major carbon compounds (formaldehyde and carboxylic acids) were biodegraded by the endogenous microflora. This work suggests that microorganisms could play a double role in atmospheric chemistry; first, they could directly metabolize organic carbon species, and second, they could reduce the available source of radicals through their oxidative metabolism. Consequently, molecules such as H2O2 would no longer be available for photochemical or other chemical reactions, which would decrease the cloud oxidant capacity.

Contribution of Microbial Activity to Carbon Chemistry in Clouds

ABSTRACT The biodegradation of the most abundant atmospheric organic C1 to C4 compounds (formate, acetate, lactate, succinate) by five selected representative microbial strains (three Pseudomonas strains, one Sphingomonas strain, and one yeast strain) isolated from cloud water at the puy de Dôme has been studied. Experiments were first conducted under model conditions and consisted of a pure strain incubated in the presence of a single organic compound. Kinetics showed the ability of the isolates to degrade atmospheric compounds at temperatures representative of low-altitude clouds (5°C and 17°C). Then, to provide data that can be extrapolated to real situations, microcosm experiments were developed. A solution that chemically mimicked the composition of cloud water was used as an incubation medium for microbial strains. Under these conditions, we determined that microbial activity would significantly contribute to the degradation of formate, acetate, and succinate in cloud water at 5°C and 17°C, with lifetimes of 0.4 to 69.1 days. Compared with the reactivity involving free radicals, our results suggest that biological activity drives the oxidation of carbonaceous compounds during the night (90 to 99%), while its contribution accounts for 2 to 37% of the reactivity during the day, competing with photochemistry.

Influence of oxygen functionalities on the environmental impact of imidazolium based ionic liquids.

Several physico-chemical properties relevant to determine the environmental impact of ionic liquids - aqueous solubility, octanol-water partition coefficient and diffusion coefficients in water at infinite dilution - together with toxicity and biodegradability of ionic liquids based on 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium cations with or without different oxygenated functional groups (hydroxyl, ester and ether) are studied in this work. The presence of oxygen groups on the imidazolium cation reduces the toxicity of ionic liquids 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium with bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide or octylsulfate anions and simultaneously decreases the value of their octanol-water partition coefficient. The presence of ester functions renders the ionic liquids more easily biodegradable, especially for long alkyl side-chains in the cation but leads to hydrolysis with the formation of reaction products that accumulate. The imidazolium ring is resistant to biodegradability and to abiotic degradation. The oxygen functionalised ionic liquids are more soluble in water and, diffuse more slowly in this medium.

Degradation of Wheat Straw by Fibrobacter succinogenes S85: a Liquid- and Solid-State Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Study

ABSTRACT Wheat straw degradation by Fibrobacter succinogenes was monitored by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and chemolytic methods to investigate the activity of an entire fibrolytic system on an intact complex substrate. In situ solid-state NMR with 13C cross-polarization magic angle spinning was used to monitor the modification of the composition and structure of lignocellulosic fibers (of 13C-enriched wheat straw) during the growth of bacteria on this substrate. There was no preferential degradation either of amorphous regions of cellulose versus crystalline regions or of cellulose versus hemicelluloses in wheat straw. This suggests either a simultaneous degradation of the amorphous and crystalline parts of cellulose and of cellulose and hemicelluloses by the enzymes or degradation at the surface at a molecular scale that cannot be detected by NMR. Liquid-state two-dimensional NMR experiments and chemolytic methods were used to analyze in detail the various sugars released into the culture medium. An integration of NMR signals enabled the quantification of oligosaccharides produced from wheat straw at various times of culture and showed the sequential activities of some of the fibrolytic enzymes of F. succinogenes S85 on wheat straw. In particular, acetylxylan esterase appeared to be more active than arabinofuranosidase, which was more active than α-glucuronidase. Finally, cellodextrins did not accumulate to a great extent in the culture medium.

The Presence of Functional Groups Key for Biodegradation in Ionic Liquids: Effect on Gas Solubility

The effect of the incorporation of either ester or ester and ether functions into the side chain of an 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium cation on the physico-chemical properties of ionic liquids containing bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide or octylsulfate anions is studied. It is believed that the introduction of an ester function into the cation of the ionic liquids greatly increases their biodegradability. The density of three such ionic liquids is measured as a function of temperature, and the solubility of four gases-carbon dioxide, ethane, methane, and hydrogen-is determined between 303 K and 343 K and at pressures close to atmospheric level. Carbon dioxide is the most soluble gas, followed by ethane and methane; the mole fraction solubilities vary from 1.8 x 10(-3) to 3.7 x 10(-2). These solubilities are of the same order of magnitude as those determined for alkylimidazolium-based ionic liquids. The chemical modification of the alkyl side chain does not result in a significant change of the solvation properties of the ionic liquid. All of the solubilities decrease with increasing temperature, corresponding to an exothermal solvation process. From the variation of this property with temperature, the thermodynamic functions of solvation (Gibbs energy, enthalpy, and entropy) are calculated and provide information about the solute-solvent interactions and the molecular structure of the solutions.

Benzothiazole degradation by Rhodococcus pyridinovorans strain PA: evidence of a catechol 1,2-dioxygenase activity.

ABSTRACT The pathway for biodegradation of benzothiazole (BT) and 2-hydroxybenzothiazole (OBT) by Rhodococcus pyridinovorans strain PA was studied in detail. The kinetics of biodegradation were monitored by in situ 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) in parallel with reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Successive oxidations from BT to OBT and then from OBT to dihydroxybenzothiazole were observed. Further insight was obtained by using a mutant strain with impaired ability to grow on BT and OBT. The precise structure of another intermediate was determined by in situ two-dimensional 1H-13C NMR and HPLC-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry; this intermediate was found to be a ring-opening product (a diacid structure). Detection of this metabolite, together with the results obtained by 1H and 19F NMR when cells were incubated with 3-fluorocatechol, demonstrated that a catechol 1,2-dioxygenase is involved in a pathway for biodegradation of BTs in this Rhodococcus strain. Our results show that catechol 1,2-dioxygenase and catechol 2,3-dioxygenase activities may both be involved in the biodegradation of BTs depending on the culture conditions.

First isolation and characterization of a bacterial strain that biotransforms the herbicide mesotrione.

Aim:  The aim of this study was to find and characterize a fungal or bacterial strain capable of metabolizing mesotrione, a new selective herbicide for control of broad‐leaved weeds in maize.

Metabolism of 2-Mercaptobenzothiazole by Rhodococcus rhodochrous

ABSTRACT 2-Mercaptobenzothiazole, which is mainly used in the rubber industry as a vulcanization accelerator, is very toxic and is considered to be recalcitrant. We show here for the first time that it can be biotransformed and partially mineralized by a pure-culture bacterial strain of Rhodococcus rhodochrous. Three metabolites, among four detected, were identified.

Common Degradative Pathways of Morpholine, Thiomorpholine, and Piperidine by Mycobacterium aurum MO1: Evidence from 1 H-Nuclear Magnetic Resonance and Ionspray Mass Spectrometry Performed Directly on the Incubation Medium

ABSTRACT In order to see if the biodegradative pathways for morpholine and thiomorpholine during degradation by Mycobacterium aurumMO1 could be generalized to other heterocyclic compounds, the degradation of piperidine by this strain was investigated by performing1H-nuclear magnetic resonance directly with the incubation medium. Ionspray mass spectrometry, performed without purification of the samples, was also used to confirm the structure of some metabolites during morpholine and thiomorpholine degradation. The results obtained with these two techniques suggested a general pathway for degradation of nitrogen heterocyclic compounds by M. aurum MO1. The first step of the degradative pathway is cleavage of the C—N bond; this leads formation of an intermediary amino acid, which is followed by deamination and oxidation of this amino acid into a diacid. Except in the case of thiodiglycolate obtained from thiomorpholine degradation, the dicarboxylates are completely mineralized by the bacterial cells. A comparison with previously published data showed that this pathway could be a general pathway for degradation by other strains of members of the genus Mycobacterium.