Use of a Bacterial Bioluminescence Assay to Assess Toxicity of Contaminated Marine Sediments

1985 ◽  
Vol 42 (7) ◽  
pp. 1244-1248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael H. Schiewe ◽  
Eric G. Hawk ◽  
David I. Actor ◽  
Margaret M. Krahn
Keyword(s):  
Acute Toxicity ◽  
Rapid Method ◽  
Marine Sediments ◽  
Aromatic Hydrocarbons ◽  
Chlorinated Hydrocarbons ◽  
Chemical Contamination ◽  
Bacterial Bioluminescence ◽  
Organic Extracts ◽  
Bioluminescence Assay ◽  
Contaminated Marine Sediments

A bacterial bioluminescence assay was evaluated for assessing the toxicity of contaminated marine sediments. Preliminary assays established the feasibility of testing methanol–dichloromethane sediment extracts and demonstrated the advantages of solvent-exchanging the extracts into ethanol before testing. Bioluminescence assays were then conducted on extracts of 18 marine sediments varying in nature and degree of chemical contamination. Statistical analyses revealed significant associations between acute toxicity expressed as a 15-min EC50 (the concentration of extract causing a 50% reduction in bioluminescence after a 15-min exposure) and concentrations of sums of measured aromatic hydrocarbons, naphthalenes, and chlorinated hydrocarbons. We conclude that the bioluminescence assay is useful as a rapid method of comparing and ranking the toxicity of organic extracts of contaminated sediments.

Survey for Tributyltin in Water and Sediment in Canada in 1999

2005 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 431-447 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. James Maguire ◽  
Suzanne P. Batchelor
Keyword(s):  
Acute Toxicity ◽  
Pest Control ◽  
Marine Sediments ◽  
Chronic Toxicity ◽  
Aquatic Organisms ◽  
Benthic Organisms ◽  
Freshwater Sediments ◽  
Antifouling Paints ◽  
Water And Sediment ◽  
Small Craft

Abstract A survey of water and sediment from 152 harbours, marinas and shipping channels across Canada was conducted in 1999 to determine the extent of contamination by tributyltin (TBT) prior to the total ban on its antifouling uses being phased in over the period 2003 to 2008, and to assess the effectiveness of the 1989 regulation of antifouling uses of TBT under the Canadian Pest Control Products Act. TBT was found in sediments in this survey much more frequently than in water. The main conclusion was that by 1999 the regulation had been generally effective in reducing TBT contamination in water, but not sediment, in small-craft marinas and harbours. TBT continued to be found in some freshwater and seawater locations frequented by larger vessels, that could have been legally painted at the time with TBT antifouling paints, at concentrations that could cause chronic toxicity to aquatic organisms. TBT was also found in many marine sediments, and some freshwater sediments, at concentrations that could cause chronic toxicity to sensitive benthic organisms. In addition, TBT concentrations in many marine sediments could cause acute toxicity to sensitive benthic organisms. Because of the long persistence of TBT in sediments, it may pose a hazard to benthic organisms in some locations in Canada for many years after the total ban on antifouling uses of TBT.

scholarly journals Bacterial population and biodegradation potential in chronically crude oil-contaminated marine sediments are strongly linked to temperature

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rafael Bargiela ◽  
Francesca Mapelli ◽  
David Rojo ◽  
Bessem Chouaia ◽  
Jesús Tornés ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Crude Oil ◽  
Marine Sediments ◽  
Bacterial Population ◽  
Contaminated Marine Sediments

scholarly journals Highly Contaminated Marine Sediments Can Host Rare Bacterial Taxa Potentially Useful for Bioremediation

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Filippo Dell’Anno ◽  
Eugenio Rastelli ◽  
Michael Tangherlini ◽  
Cinzia Corinaldesi ◽  
Clementina Sansone ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Marine Sediments ◽  
High Throughput Sequencing ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Aliphatic Hydrocarbons ◽  
Chemical Contamination ◽  
Bacterial Strains ◽  
Anthropogenic Pressures ◽  
Sediment Grain Size ◽  
Gulf Of Naples ◽  
Mixed Contaminants

Coastal areas impacted by high anthropogenic pressures typically display sediment contamination by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and heavy metals (HMs). Microbial-based bioremediation represents a promising strategy for sediment reclamation, yet it frequently fails due to poor knowledge of the diversity and dynamics of the autochthonous microbial assemblages and to the inhibition of the target microbes in the contaminated matrix. In the present study, we used an integrated approach including a detailed environmental characterization, high-throughput sequencing and culturing to identify autochthonous bacteria with bioremediation potential in the sediments of Bagnoli-Coroglio (Gulf of Naples, Mediterranean Sea), a coastal area highly contaminated by PAHs, aliphatic hydrocarbons and HMs. The analysis of the benthic prokaryotic diversity showed that the distribution of the dominant taxon (Gammaproteobacteria) was mainly influenced by PAHs, As, and Cd concentrations. The other abundant taxa (including Alphaproteobacteria, Deltaproteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria, NB1-j, Desulfobacterota, and Myxococcota) were mainly driven by sediment grain size and by Cu and Cr concentrations, while the rare taxa (i.e., each contributing <1%) by As and aliphatic hydrocarbons concentrations and by sediment redox potential. These results suggest a differential response of bacterial taxa to environmental features and chemical contamination and those different bacterial groups may be inhibited or promoted by different contaminants. This hypothesis was confirmed by culturing and isolating 80 bacterial strains using media highly enriched in PAHs, only nine of which were contextually resistant to high HM concentrations. Such resistant isolates represented novel Gammaproteobacteria strains affiliated to Vibrio, Pseudoalteromonas, and Agarivorans, which were only scarcely represented in their original assemblages. These findings suggest that rare but culturable bacterial strains resistant/tolerant to high levels of mixed contaminants can be promising candidates useful for the reclamation by bioaugmentation strategies of marine sediments that are highly contaminated with PAHs and HMs.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document