Bacillus subtilis is a Potential Degrader of Pyrene and Benzo[a]pyrene

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a group of compounds that pose many health threats to human and animal life. They occur in nature as a result of incomplete combustion of organic matter, as well as from many anthropogenic sources including cigarette smoke and automobile exhaust. PAHs have...

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Main Authors:	Hunter, Rochelle D., Ekunwe, Stephen I. N., Dodor, Daniel E., Hwang, Huey-Min, Ekunwe, Lynette
Format:	Online
Language:	English
Published:	Molecular Diversity Preservation International (MDPI) 2005
Online Access:	https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3810630/

id	pubmed-3810630
recordtype	oai_dc
spelling	pubmed-38106302013-10-30 Bacillus subtilis is a Potential Degrader of Pyrene and Benzo[a]pyrene Hunter, Rochelle D. Ekunwe, Stephen I. N. Dodor, Daniel E. Hwang, Huey-Min Ekunwe, Lynette Article Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a group of compounds that pose many health threats to human and animal life. They occur in nature as a result of incomplete combustion of organic matter, as well as from many anthropogenic sources including cigarette smoke and automobile exhaust. PAHs have been reported to cause liver damage, red blood cell damage and a variety of cancers. Because of this, methods to reduce the amount of PAHs in the environment are continuously being sought. The purpose of this study was to find soil bacteria capable of degrading high molecular weight PAHs, such as pyrene (Pyr) and benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), which contain more than three benzene rings and so persist in the environment. Bacillus subtilis, identified by fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) analysis, was isolated from PAH contaminated soil. Because it grew in the presence of 33μg/ml each of pyrene, 1-AP and 1-HP, its biodegradation capabilities were assessed. It was found that after a four-day incubation period at 30°C in 20μg/ml pyrene or benzo[a]pyrene, B. subtilis was able to transform approximately 40% and 50% pyrene and benzo[a]pyrene, respectively. This is the first report implicating B. subtilis in PAH degradation. Whether or not the intermediates resulting from the transformation are more toxic than their parent compounds, and whether B. subtilis is capable of mineralizing pyrene or benzo[a]pyrene to carbon dioxide and water, remains to be evaluated. Molecular Diversity Preservation International (MDPI) 2005-08 2005-08-14 /pmc/articles/PMC3810630/ /pubmed/16705827 Text en © 2005 MDPI. All rights reserved.
repository_type	Open Access Journal
institution_category	Foreign Institution
institution	US National Center for Biotechnology Information
building	NCBI PubMed
collection	Online Access
language	English
format	Online
author	Hunter, Rochelle D. Ekunwe, Stephen I. N. Dodor, Daniel E. Hwang, Huey-Min Ekunwe, Lynette
spellingShingle	Hunter, Rochelle D. Ekunwe, Stephen I. N. Dodor, Daniel E. Hwang, Huey-Min Ekunwe, Lynette Bacillus subtilis is a Potential Degrader of Pyrene and Benzo[a]pyrene
author_facet	Hunter, Rochelle D. Ekunwe, Stephen I. N. Dodor, Daniel E. Hwang, Huey-Min Ekunwe, Lynette
author_sort	Hunter, Rochelle D.
title	Bacillus subtilis is a Potential Degrader of Pyrene and Benzo[a]pyrene
title_short	Bacillus subtilis is a Potential Degrader of Pyrene and Benzo[a]pyrene
title_full	Bacillus subtilis is a Potential Degrader of Pyrene and Benzo[a]pyrene
title_fullStr	Bacillus subtilis is a Potential Degrader of Pyrene and Benzo[a]pyrene
title_full_unstemmed	Bacillus subtilis is a Potential Degrader of Pyrene and Benzo[a]pyrene
title_sort	bacillus subtilis is a potential degrader of pyrene and benzo[a]pyrene
description	Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a group of compounds that pose many health threats to human and animal life. They occur in nature as a result of incomplete combustion of organic matter, as well as from many anthropogenic sources including cigarette smoke and automobile exhaust. PAHs have been reported to cause liver damage, red blood cell damage and a variety of cancers. Because of this, methods to reduce the amount of PAHs in the environment are continuously being sought. The purpose of this study was to find soil bacteria capable of degrading high molecular weight PAHs, such as pyrene (Pyr) and benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), which contain more than three benzene rings and so persist in the environment. Bacillus subtilis, identified by fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) analysis, was isolated from PAH contaminated soil. Because it grew in the presence of 33μg/ml each of pyrene, 1-AP and 1-HP, its biodegradation capabilities were assessed. It was found that after a four-day incubation period at 30°C in 20μg/ml pyrene or benzo[a]pyrene, B. subtilis was able to transform approximately 40% and 50% pyrene and benzo[a]pyrene, respectively. This is the first report implicating B. subtilis in PAH degradation. Whether or not the intermediates resulting from the transformation are more toxic than their parent compounds, and whether B. subtilis is capable of mineralizing pyrene or benzo[a]pyrene to carbon dioxide and water, remains to be evaluated.
publisher	Molecular Diversity Preservation International (MDPI)
publishDate	2005
url	https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3810630/
_version_	1612021352307359744

Bacillus subtilis is a Potential Degrader of Pyrene and Benzo[a]pyrene

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