Interaction of perchlorate and trichloroethene bioreductions in mixed anaerobic culture

This work evaluated the interaction of perchlorate and trichloroethene (TCE), two common co-contaminants in groundwater, during bioreduction in serum bottles containing synthetic mineral salts media and microbial consortia. TCE at concentrations up to 0.3mM did not significantly affect perchlorate reduction; however, perchlorate concentrations higher than 0.1mM made the reduction of TCE significantly slower. Perchlorate primarily inhibited the reduction of vinyl chloride (VC, a daughter product of TCE) to ethene. Mechanistic analysis showed that the inhibition was mainly because perchlorate reduction is thermodynamically more favorable than reduction of TCE and its daughter products and not because of toxicity due to accumulation of dissolved oxygen produced during perchlorate reduction. As the initial perchlorate concentration increased from 0 to 600mg/L in a set of serum bottles, the relative abundance of Rhodocyclaceae (a putatively perchlorate-reducing genus) increased from 6.3 to 80.6%, while the relative abundance of Dehalococcoides, the only known genus that is able to reduce TCE all the way to ethene, significantly decreased. Similarly, the relative abundance of Proteobacteria (a phylum to which most known perchlorate-reducing bacteria belong) increased from 22% to almost 80%. Fig. A plots the interaction of TCE and perchlorate bio-reduction under different concentrations of perchlorate and suggests that initial ethene wasn't formed until the perchlorate was completely reduced. B shows the electron donor utilization and oxygen generated during the experiment and indicates that it is perchlorate reduction over-competed for electron donor rather than oxygen generated that inhibits TCE reductive dechlorination. [Display omitted] •Perchlorate slowed but did not inhibit the complete dechlorination of TCE.•The inhibition was mainly due to the thermodynamic preference of perchlorate to TCE.•The generated oxygen was consumed and could not accumulate to inhibit the dechlorinators' activity.