Dynamic Role of the Correlation Effect Revealed in the Exceptionally Slow Autodetachment Rates of the Vibrational Feshbach Resonances in the Dipole-Bound State

Real-time autodetachment dynamics of the loosely-bound excess electron from the vibrational Feshbach resonances of the dipole-bound states (DBS) of 4-bromophonoxide (4-BrPhO-) and 4-chlorophenoxide (4-ClPhO-) anions have been thoroughly investigated. The state-specific autodetachment rate measurements obtained by the picosecond time-resolved pump-probe method on the cryogenically cooled anions, exhibit the exceptionally long lifetime (τ) of ~ 2.5  0.6 ns (as the upper bound) for the 11’1 vibrational mode of the 4-BrPhO- DBS. Strong mode-dependency in the wide dynamic range has also been found, giving τ ~ 5.3 ps for the 10’1 mode, for instance. Though it is nontrivial to get the state-specific rates for the 4-ClPhO- DBS, the average autodetachment lifetime of the 19’120’1/11’1 mode has been estimated to be ~ 548  108 ps. Observation of these exceptionally slow autodetachment rates of vibrational Feshbach resonances strongly indicates that the ‘correlation effect’ may play a significant role in the DBS photodetachment dynamics. The Fermi’s golden rule has been invoked so that the correlation effect is taken into account in the form of the interaction between the charge and the induced dipole where the latter is given by the polarizable counterparts of the electron-rich halogenated compound and the diffuse non-valence electron. This report suggests that one may measure, from the real-time autodetachment dynamics, the extent of the correlation effect contribution to the stabilization and/or dynamics of the excess non-valence electron among many different types of the long-range interactions of the DBS.

Utilisation of 2,2DCP by Staphyloccocus aureus ZT and In Silico Analysis of Putative Dehalogenase

Halogenated compound such as 2,2-dichloropropionic acid is known for its toxicity and polluted many areas especially with agricultural activities. This study focused on the isolation and characterization of the bacterium that can utilise 2,2-dichloropropionic acid from palm oil plantation in Lenga, Johor and in silico analysis of putative dehalogenase obtained from NCBI database of the same genus and species. The bacterium was isolated using an enrichment culture media supplemented with 20 mM 2,2-dicholoropropionic acid as a carbon source. The cells were grown at 30ËšC with cells doubling time of 2.00±0.005 hours with the maximum growth at A680nm of 1.047 overnight. The partial biochemical tests and morphological examination concluded that the bacterium belongs to the genus Staphylococcus sp.. This is the first reported studies of  Staphylococcus sp. with the ability to grow on 2,2-dichloropropionic acid. The genomic DNA from NCBI database of the same species was analysed assuming the same genus and has identical genomic sequence. The full genome of Staphylococcus sp. was screened for dehalogenase gene and  haloacid dehalogenase gene was detected in the mobile genetic element of the species revealed that the dehalogenase sequence has little identities to the previously reported dehalogenases.The main outcome of the studies suggesting an in situ bioremediation can be regarded as a natural process to detoxify the contaminated sites provided that the microorganisms contained a specialised gene sequence within its genome that served the nature for many long years. Whether microorganisms will be successful in destroying man-made contaminants entirely rely on what types of organisms play a role in in situ bioremediation and which contaminants are most susceptible to bioremediation.Â

Dehalogenases for pollutant degradation in brief: A mini review

Dehalogenases are microbial enzyme catalysed the cleavage of carbon-halogen bond of halogenated organic compounds. It has potential use in the area of biotechnology such as bioremediation and chemical industry. Halogenated organic compounds can be found in a considerable amount in the environment due to utilization in agriculture and industry, such as pesticides and herbicides. The presence of halogenated compound in the environment have been implicated on the health and natural ecosystem. Microbial dehalogenation is a significant method to tackle this problem. This review intends to briefly describe the microbial dehalogenases in relation to the environment where they are isolated. The basic information about dehalogenases in relation to dehalogenation mechanisms, classification, sources and the transportation of these pollutants into bacterial cytoplasm will be described. We also summarised readily available synthetic halogenated organic compound in the environment.

Production of the antimicrobial compound tetrabromopyrrole and the Pseudomonas quinolone system precursor, 2-heptyl-4-quinolone, by a novel marine species Pseudoalteromonas galatheae sp. nov.

Novel antimicrobials are urgently needed due to the rapid spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria. In a genome-wide analysis of Pseudoalteromonas strains, one strain (S4498) was noticed due to its potent antibiotic activity. It did not produce the yellow antimicrobial pigment bromoalterochromide, which was produced by several related type strains with which it shared less than 95% average nucleotide identity. Also, it produced a sweet-smelling volatile not observed from other strains. Mining the genome of strain S4498 using the secondary metabolite prediction tool antiSMASH led to eight biosynthetic gene clusters with no homology to known compounds, and synteny analyses revealed that the yellow pigment bromoalterochromide was likely lost during evolution. Metabolome profiling of strain S4498 using HPLC-HRMS analyses revealed marked differences to the type strains. In particular, a series of quinolones known as pseudanes were identified and verified by NMR. The characteristic odor of the strain was linked to the pseudanes. The highly halogenated compound tetrabromopyrrole was detected as the major antibacterial component by bioassay-guided fractionation. Taken together, the polyphasic analysis demonstrates that strain S4498 belongs to a novel species within the genus Pseudoalteromonas, and we propose the name Pseudoalteromonas galatheae sp. nov. (type strain S4498T = NCIMB 15250T = LMG 31599T).

Isolation and Characterization of a Novel Bacterium from the Marine Environment for Trichloroacetic Acid Bioremediation

Halogenated compounds are an important class of environmental pollutants that are widely used in industrial chemicals such as solvents, herbicides, and pesticides. Many studies have been carried out to explore the biodegradation of these chemicals. Trichloroacetic acid (TCA) is one of the main halogenated compounds that are carcinogenic to humans and animals. The bacterium was isolated from the northern coastline of Johor Strait. In this study, the ability of strain MH2 to biodegrade TCA was evaluated by a growth experiment and dehalogenase enzyme assay. The growth profile of the isolated strain was examined. The doubling time for L. boronitolerans MH2 was found to be 32 h. The release of chloride ion in the degradation process was measured at 0.33 × 10−3 ± 0.03 mol∙L−1 after 96 h when the growth curve had reached its maximum within the late bacterial exponential phase. The results showed that the strain had a promising ability to degrade TCA by producing dehalogenase enzyme when cell-free extracts were prepared from growth on TCA as the sole carbon source with enzyme-specific activity, 1.1 ± 0.05 µmolCl−min−1∙mg−1 protein. Furthermore, the morphological, and biochemical aspects of the isolated bacterium were studied to identify and characterize the strain. The morphological observation of the isolated bacterium was seen to be a rod-shaped, Gram-positive, motile, heterotrophic, and spore-forming bacterium. The amplification of the 16S rRNA and gene analysis results indicated that the isolated bacterium had 98% similarity to Lysinibacillus boronitolerans. The morphological and biochemical tests supported the 16S rRNA gene amplification. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first reported case of this genus of bacteria to degrade this type of halogenated compound.

Top-down Support of Swiss non-CO2 Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reporting to UNFCCC

<p>Globally, emissions of long-lived non-CO<sub>2</sub> greenhouse gases (GHG; methane, nitrous oxide and halogenated compounds) account for approximately 30 % of the radiative forcing of all anthropogenic GHG emissions. In industrialised countries, ‘bottom-up’ estimates come with relatively large uncertainties for anthropogenic non-CO<sub>2</sub> GHGs when compared with those of anthropogenic CO<sub>2</sub>. 'Top-down' methods on the country scale offer an independent support tool to reduce these uncertainties and detect biases in emissions reported to the UNFCCC. Based on atmospheric concentration observations these tools are also able to detect the effectiveness of emission mitigation measures on the long term.</p><p>Since 2012 the Swiss national inventory reporting (NIR) contains an appendix on 'top-down' studies for selected halogenated compound. Subsequently, this appendix was extended to include methane and nitrous oxide. Here, we present these updated (2020 submission) regional-scale (~300 x 200 km<sup>2</sup>) atmospheric inversion studies for non-CO<sub>2</sub> GHG emission estimates in Switzerland, making use of observations on the Swiss Plateau (Beromünster tall tower) as well as the neighbouring mountain-top sites Jungfraujoch and Schauinsland.</p><p>We report spatially and temporally resolved Swiss emissions for CH<sub>4</sub> (2013-2019), N<sub>2</sub>O (2017-2019) and total Swiss emissions for hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and SF<sub>6</sub> (2009-2019) based on a Bayesian inversion system and a tracer ratio method, respectively. Both approaches make use of transport simulations applying the high-resolution (7 x 7 km<sup>2</sup>) Lagrangian particle dispersion model (FLEXPART-COSMO). We compare these 'top-down' estimates to the 'bottom-up' results reported by Switzerland to the UNFCCC. Although we find good agreement between the two estimates for some species (CH<sub>4</sub>, N<sub>2</sub>O), emissions of other compounds (e.g., considerably lower 'top-down' estimates for HFC-134a) show larger discrepancies. Potential reasons for the disagreements are discussed. Currently, our 'top-down' information is only used for comparative purposes and does not feed back into the 'bottom-up' inventory.</p>

Hydrogeological investigations in preparation of an in situ bioremediation strategy based on a novel bacterial desulfitobacterium dichloroeliminans strain DCAl

Understanding the wide variety of aquifer physical, chemical and microbiological processes is necessary for the effective implementation of in situ bioaugmentation strategies. Therefore, a numerical density dependent 3D solute transport model MOCDENS3D was developed in combination with field experiments to characterise the subsurface control parameters. This also allowed for the study of the effect of aquifer heterogeneity upon the fate and transport of the reactive solutes and the injected bacterial strain. These investigations were conducted during the evaluation of an in situ bioremediation strategy intended for the cleanup of a test site. The site lies within a historically 1,2- dichloroethane (l ,2-DCA) contaminated sandy phreatic aquifer in Tessenderlo (Belgium). The halogenated compound has a putative carcinogenic effect and a high recalcitrance towards reductive dechlorination. The isolation of the novel anaerobic Desulfitobacterium dichloroeliminans strain DCAI from the soil matrix of the Tessenderlo site at LabMET (Ghent University, Belgium) offered perspectives for the execution of a bioaugmentation strategy at this site, since this strain selectively degrades 1,2-DCA to ethene under anaerobic conditions without the production of toxic vinyl chloride. First, a step-drawdown pumping test followed by a forced gradient multiple-well tracer test was conducted to obtain values for the hydrogeological parameters such as hydraulic conductivity, longitudinal and transverse dispersivity and effective porosity. The solute transport model was used as a predictive field-scale modelling tool in aid of designing the preliminary field tests as well as the bacterial injection. The aim of the latter was the assessment of the transport of the augmented strain DCAI. Prior modelling of these experiments provides an insight in the possible design strategies and hence, it can be concluded that profound preliminary field investigation aided by a solute transport model such as MOCDENS3D, results in a more time- and cost-effective execution of large scale cleanup processes of contaminated sites.