Biomedical subjects

J Wiegel

Publications and source records attributed to J Wiegel.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Novel chemolithotrophic, thermophilic, anaerobic bacteria Thermolithobacter ferrireducens gen. nov., sp. nov. and Thermolithobacter carboxydivorans sp. nov.

Three thermophilic strains of chemolithoautotrophic Fe(III)-reducers were isolated from mixed sediment and water samples (JW/KA-1 and JW/KA-2(T): Calcite Spring, Yellowstone N.P., WY, USA; JW/JH-Fiji-2: Savusavu, Vanu Levu, Fiji). All were Gram stain positive rods (approximately 0.5 x 1.8 microm). Cells occurred singly or in V-shaped pairs, and they formed long chains in complex media. All utilized H(2) to reduce amorphous iron (III) oxide/hydroxide to magnetite at temperatures from 50 to 75 degrees C (opt. approximately 73 degrees C). Growth occurred within the pH(60C) range of 6.5-8.5 (opt. pH(60C) 7.1-7.3). Magnetite production by resting cells occurred at pH(60C) 5.5-10.3 (opt. 7.3). The iron (III) reduction rate was 1.3 mumol Fe(II) produced x h(-1) x ml(-1) in a culture with 3 x 10(7) cells, one of the highest rates reported. In the presence or absence of H(2), JW/KA-2(T) did not utilize CO. The G + C content of the genomic DNA of the type strain is 52.7 +/- 0.3 mol%. Strains JW/KA-1 and JW/KA-2(T) each contain two different 16S rRNA gene sequences. The 16S rRNA gene sequences from JW/KA-1, JW/KA-2(T), or JW/JH-Fiji-2 possessed >99% similarity to each other but also 99% similarity to the 16S rRNA gene sequence from the anaerobic, thermophilic, hydrogenogenic CO-oxidizing bacterium 'Carboxydothermus restrictus' R1. DNA-DNA hybridization between strain JW/KA-2(T) and strain R1(T) yielded 35% similarity. Physiological characteristics and the 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis indicated that the strains represent two novel species and are placed into the novel genus Thermolithobacter within the phylum 'Firmicutes'. In addition, the levels of 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity between the lineage containing the Thermolithobacter and well-established members of the three existing classes of the 'Firmicutes' is less than 85%. Therefore, Thermolithobacter is proposed to constitute the first genus within a novel class of the 'Firmicutes', Thermolithobacteria. The Fe(III)-reducing Thermolithobacter ferrireducens gen. nov., sp. nov. is designated as the type species with strain JW/KA-2(T) (ATCC 700985(T), DSM 13639(T)) as its type strain. Strain R1(T) is the type strain for the hydrogenogenic, CO-oxidizing Thermolithobacter carboxydivorans sp. nov. (DSM 7242(T), VKM 2359(T)).

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗

PubMed2006

Reclassification of Thermoterrabacterium ferrireducens as Carboxydothermus ferrireducens comb. nov., and emended description of the genus Carboxydothermus.

Similarities in phylogeny and metabolic properties between the type species of two monospecific genera of thermophilic anaerobic bacteria, Carboxydothermus hydrogenoformans and Thermoterrabacterium ferrireducens, and analysis of their recently available 16S rRNA gene sequences warranted clarification of their taxonomic positions. We have determined that the value of DNA-DNA hybridization between the type strains is 53 %. Additional physiological studies revealed that C. hydrogenoformans Z-2901(T) is capable of Fe(III) reduction with H(2) as an electron donor and ferrihydrite as an electron acceptor. T. ferrireducens JW/AS-Y7(T) is able to grow and utilize CO with ferrihydrite as an electron acceptor without hydrogen or acetate production. We therefore reclassify Thermoterrabacterium ferrireducens as Carboxydothermus ferrireducens comb. nov. (type strain JW/AS-Y7(T)=DSM 11255(T)=VKM B-2392(T)). The description of the genus Carboxydothermus is emended to include such important physiological properties as growth on organic compounds and capacity for Fe(III) reduction.

Carbon Monoxide↗

PubMed2004

Alkalithermophiles.

Alkalithermophiles are an exciting subset of extremophilic organisms and represent extremophiles that are adapted to two extreme conditions, i.e. to a combination of alkaline and thermobiotic growth conditions. Among the anaerobic alkalithermophiles are representatives of both Bacteria and Archaea within a wide variety of physiological types and systematic groups, although a great majority belongs to the Firmicutes. Alkaliphiles have been isolated from a variety of niches including mesobiotic and neutrophilic soils and sediments. Interestingly anaerobic isolates from mesobiotic and neutrophilic niches exhibit shorter doubling times than isolates from thermobiotic niches; some anaerobic alkalithermophiles exhibit extremely fast growth rates, i.e. doubling times as short as 10 min. Their adaptation to both high pH and high temperature draws our attention not only because they are potential sources of industrially valuable enzymes but also because of their adaptive mechanisms to external environmental parameters. They could thus function as model organisms for extraterrestrial life in some environments and for theories on the origin of life. Alkalithermophiles, as far we know, do not represent the most thermophilic nor the most alkaliphilic of micro-organisms but represent the most alkaliphilic ones among the thermophiles and vice versa. We believe that the presently known species are only the tip of the iceberg and therefore that they do not represent the true boundaries under which life can thrive in respect to high temperature in alkaline environments.

Archaea↗

PubMed2004

Nonmarine crenarchaeol in Nevada hot springs.

Glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs) are core membrane lipids of the Crenarchaeota. The structurally unusual GDGT crenarchaeol has been proposed as a taxonomically specific biomarker for the marine planktonic group I archaea. It is found ubiquitously in the marine water column and in sediments. In this work, samples of microbial community biomass were obtained from several alkaline and neutral-pH hot springs in Nevada, United States. Lipid extracts of these samples were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry and by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Each sample contained GDGTs, and among these compounds was crenarchaeol. The distribution of archaeal lipids in Nevada hot springs did not appear to correlate with temperature, as has been observed in the marine environment. Instead, a significant correlation with the concentration of bicarbonate was observed. Archaeal DNA was analyzed by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis. All samples contained 16S rRNA gene sequences which were more strongly related to thermophilic crenarchaeota than to Cenarchaeum symbiosum, a marine nonthermophilic crenarchaeon. The occurrence of crenarchaeol in environments containing sequences affiliated with thermophilic crenarchaeota suggests a wide phenotypic distribution of this compound. The results also indicate that crenarchaeol can no longer be considered an exclusive biomarker for marine species.

Archaea↗

PubMed2003

Dehalogenation of 2,6-dibromobiphenyl and 2,3,4,5,6-pentachlorobiphenyl in contaminated estuarine sediment.

Estuarine sediments from a USEPA Superfund site in coastal Georgia were extensively contaminated with Aroclor 1268, a mixture of highly chlorinated polychlorinated biphenyls used by a former chlor-alkali plant. Batch slurries of contaminated sediment were incubated for 1 yr with amendments of 2,6-dibromobiphenyl (26-BB) and 2,3,4,5,6-pentachlorobiphenyl (23456-CB) under anaerobic, sulfate-reducing conditions and different pH (5.5-7.5). Organic extracts of slurry sub-samples in a time series were analyzed by congener-specific GC-MS. Dechlorination of 23456-CB was pH dependent and occurred via two routes with the sequential loss of (1) meta and para chlorines and (2) para, ortho, and meta chlorines. Quantitative dehalogenation of 26-BB was observed at all pH. Supplementation of nonachlorobiphenyls (as primers) did not induce dechlorination of native Aroclor 1268 nor of the primers themselves. While contaminated estuarine sediments possess microbial consortia with diverse dehalogenating activities, lack of dechlorination of Aroclor 1268 and spiked nonachlorobiphenyl congeners suggests a bioavailability limitation or enzyme-substrate incompatibilities.

Anaerobiosis↗

PubMed2000

Cloning, sequencing, and characterization of the bifunctional xylosidase-arabinosidase from the anaerobic thermophile thermoanaerobacter ethanolicus.

The gene for the bifunctional xylosidase-arabinosidase (xarB) from the thermophilic anaerobe Thermoanaerobacter ethanolicus JW200 was cloned, sequenced, and expressed in Escherichia coli (Genebank Accession No. AF135015). Analysis of the recombinant enzyme revealed activity against multiple substrates with the highest affinity towards p-nitrophenyl beta-D-xylopyranoside (pNPX) and highest activity against p-nitrophenyl alpha-L-arabinopyranoside (pNPAP), respectively. Thus, we classify this enzyme as a bifunctional xylosidase-arabinosidase. Even though both sequences are 96% identical on the amino acid level, excluding the amino-terminal end, a frame-shift mutation in the 5' region of the gene in T. brockii ATCC 33075 and a deletion in a downstream open reading frame in T. ethanolicus seem to have occurred through evolutionary divergence of these two species. This represents an interesting phenomenon of molecular evolution of bacterial species, as PCR analysis of the region around the deletion indicates that the deletion is not present in T. brockii ssp. finnii and T. brockii ssp. brockii type strain HTD4.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed2000

Microbial reductive dehalogenation of polychlorinated biphenyls.

Under anaerobic conditions, microbial reductive dechlorination of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) occurs in soils and aquatic sediments. In contrast to dechlorination of supplemented single congeners for which frequently ortho dechlorination has been observed, reductive dechlorination mainly attacks meta and/or para chlorines of PCB mixtures in contaminated sediments, although in a few instances ortho dechlorination of PCBs has been observed. Different microorganisms appear to be responsible for different dechlorination activities and the occurrence of various dehalogenation routes. No axenic cultures of an anaerobic microorganism have been obtained so far. Most probable number determinations indicate that the addition of PCB congeners, as potential electron acceptors, stimulates the growth of PCB-dechlorinating microorganisms. A few PCB-dechlorinating enrichment cultures have been obtained and partially characterized. Temperature, pH, availability of naturally occurring or of supplemented carbon sources, and the presence or absence of H(2) or other electron donors and competing electron acceptors influence the dechlorination rate, extent and route of PCB dechlorination. We conclude from the sum of the experimental data that these factors influence apparently the composition of the active microbial community and thus the routes, the rates and the extent of the dehalogenation. The observed effects are due to the specificity of the dehalogenating bacteria which become active as well as changing interactions between the dehalogenating and non-dehalogenating bacteria. Important interactions include the induced changes in the formation and utilization of H(2) by non-dechlorinating and dechlorinating bacteria, competition for substrates and other electron donors and acceptors, and changes in the formation of acidic fermentation products by heterotrophic and autotrophic acidogenic bacteria leading to changes in the pH of the sediments.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2000

Novel strains of Moorella thermoacetica form unusually heat-resistant spores.

Two strains of Moorella thermoacetica, JW/B-2 and JW/DB-4, isolated as contaminants from autoclaved media for chemolithoautotrophic growth containing 0.1% (wt/vol) yeast extract, formed unusually heat-resistant spores. Spores of the two strains required heat activation at 100 degrees C of more than 2 min and up to 90 min for maximal percentage of germination. Kinetic analysis indicated the presence of two distinct subpopulations of heat-resistant spores. The decimal reduction time (D10-time=time of exposure to reduce viable spore counts by 90%) at 121 degrees C was determined for each strain using spores obtained under different conditions. For strains JW/DB-2 and JW/ DB-4, respectively, spores obtained at approximately 25 degrees C from cells grown chemolithoautotrophically had D10-times of 43 min and 23 min; spores obtained at 60 degrees C from cells grown chemoorganoheterotrophically had D10-times of 44 min and 38 min; spores obtained at 60 degrees C from cells grown chemolithoautotrophically had D10-times of 83 min and 111 min. The thickness of the cortex varied between 0.10 and 0.29 microm and the radius of the cytoplasm from 0.14 to 0.46 microm. These spores are amongst the most heat-resistant noted to date. Electron microscopy revealed structures within the exosporia of spores prior to full maturity that were assumed to be layers of the outer spore coat.

Clostridium↗

PubMed2000

Reductively debrominating strains of Propionigenium maris from burrows of bromophenol-producing marine infauna.

Two novel strains of Propionigenium maris able to reductively debrominate 2,4,6-tribromophenol (TBP) to monobromophenols were isolated from marine hemichordate and polychaete burrows. These two strains, DSL-1 and ML-1, were anaerobic, non-motile rods that stained Gram-negative and required 0.05% yeast extract for growth. Strain DSL-1 fermented pyruvate and succinate to predominantly butyrate and strain ML-1 fermented glucose and succinate primarily to propionate. No inorganic terminal electron acceptors were identified. The pH and temperature optima for growth were 7.6 and 30 degrees C for strain DSL-1 and 7.0 and 32 degrees C for strain ML-1, respectively; doubling times for strains DSL-1 and ML-1 were 0.32 h and 0.30 h, respectively. Both strains required 2-3% (w/v) NaCl for optimal growth. Morphological and physiological features, as well as the results of 16S rDNA sequence analysis, showed these to be new strains of Propionigenium maris. Because they differ from the P. maris type strain (DSM 9537T) in a number of respects, including their ability to rapidly debrominate di- and tribromophenols, and in their specific habitats, the species description is amended to include these ecologically important properties.

Base Composition↗

PubMed2000

Advances in development of a genetic system for Thermoanaerobacterium spp.: expression of genes encoding hydrolytic enzymes, development of a second shuttle vector, and integration of genes into the chromosome.

Despite recent success in transforming various thermophilic gram-type-positive anaerobes with plasmid DNA, use of shuttle vectors for the expression of genes other than antibiotic resistance markers has not previously been described. We constructed new vectors in order to express heterologous hydrolytic enzymes in our model system, Thermoanaerobacterium saccharolyticum JW/SL-YS485. Transformed Thermoanaerobacterium expressed active enzyme, indicating that this system may function as an alternate expression host, especially for genes with a thermophilic origin. To develop further the genetic system for T. saccharolyticum JW/SL-YS485, two improved Escherichia coli-Thermoanaerobacterium shuttle vectors, pRKM1 and pRUKM, were constructed. Furthermore, the kanamycin resistance cassette alone and the kanamycin resistance cassette plus the cellobiohydrolase gene (cbhA) from Clostridium thermocellum JW20 were integrated into the xylanase gene (xynA) region of the Thermoanaerobacterium chromosome via homologous recombination using pUC-based suicide vectors pUXK and pUXKC.

Bacteria, Anaerobic↗

PubMed1999

Anaerobic dehalogenation of hydroxylated polychlorinated biphenyls by Desulfitobacterium dehalogenans.

Ten years after reports on the existence of anaerobic dehalogenation of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in sediment slurries, we report here on the rapid reductive dehalogenation of para-hydroxylated PCBs (HO-PCBs), the excreted main metabolites of PCB in mammals, which can exhibit estrogenic and antiestrogenic activities in humans. The anaerobic bacterium Desulfitobacterium dehalogenans completely dehalogenates all flanking chlorines (chlorines in ortho position to the para-hydroxyl group) from congeners such as 3,3',5, 5'-tetrachloro-4,4'-dihydroxybiphenyl.

Animals↗

PubMed1999

Cloning, characterization, and expression of a novel gene encoding a reversible 4-hydroxybenzoate decarboxylase from Clostridium hydroxybenzoicum.

A novel gene, designated ohb1, which encodes the oxygen-sensitive and biotin-, ATP-, thiamin-, pyridoxal phosphate-, and metal-ion-independent, reversible 4-hydroxybenzoate decarboxylase (4-HOB-DC) from the obligate anaerobe Clostridium hydroxybenzoicum JW/Z-1(T) was sequenced (GenBank accession no. AF128880) and expressed. The 1,440-bp open reading frame (ORF) (ohb1) encodes 480 amino acids. Major properties of the heterologous enzyme (Ohb1) expressed in Escherichia coli DH5alpha were the same as those described for the native 4-HOB-DC (Z. He and J. Wiegel, J. Bacteriol. 178:3539-3543, 1996). The deduced amino acid sequence shows up to 57% identity and up to 74% similarity to hypothetical proteins deduced from ORFs in genomes from bacteria and archaea, suggesting a possible novel gene family.

Base Sequence↗

PubMed1998

Anaerobic alkalithermophiles, a novel group of extremophiles.

Although some anaerobic and aerobic mesophiles have long been known to grow at alkaline pH (above 9.5), little was known until recently about thermophilic alkaliphiles, termed now alkalithermophiles. This minireview describes presently known and recently validly described anaerobic alkalithermophilic bacteria (pHopt55C > 8.5; Topt > 55 degrees C) and alkalitolerant thermophiles (pHopt55C < 8.5 but pHmax55C above 9.0). Some of these are widely distributed, but others have been isolated (thus far) only from one specific location. This novel group of anaerobic bacteria is comprised of physiologically different genera and species which, so far, all belong to the Gram-type positive Bacillus-Clostridium phylogenetic subbranch. An interesting feature of these anaerobic alkalithermophiles is that most of the isolates have short doubling times. The fastest growing among them are strains of Thermobrachium celere, with doubling times as short as 10 min while growing above pH 9.0 and above 55 degrees C.

Archaea↗

PubMed1998

Comparison of Energy and Growth Yields for Desulfitobacterium dehalogenans during Utilization of Chlorophenol and Various Traditional Electron Acceptors.

Desulfitobacterium dehalogenans grew with formate as the electron donor and 3-chloro-4-hydroxyphenylacetate (3-Cl-4-OHPA) as the electron acceptor, yielding Y(X/formate), Y(X/2e), and Y(X/ATP) ranging from 3.2 to 11.3 g of biomass (dry weight)/mol, thus indicating that energy was conserved through reductive dechlorination. Pyruvate was utilized as the electron donor and acceptor, yielding stoichiometric amounts of acetate and lactate, respectively, and a Y(X/reduced acceptor) of 13.0 g of biomass (dry weight)/mol. The supplementation of pyruvate-containing medium with additional electron acceptors, such as 3-Cl-4-OHPA, nitrate, fumarate, or sulfite, caused pyruvate to be replaced as the electron acceptor and nearly doubled the Y(X/ATP) (Y(X/acetate formed)). A comparison of the yields for 3-Cl-4-OHPA with those for other traditional electron acceptors indicates that the dehalogenation reaction led to the formation of similar amounts of energy equivalents. The various electron acceptors were used concomitantly with 3-Cl-4-OHPA in nonacclimated cultures, but the utilization rates and amounts utilized differed.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1997

Fe(III) as an electron acceptor for H2 oxidation in thermophilic anaerobic enrichment cultures from geothermal areas.

Six sustainable enrichment cultures of thermophilic H2-oxidizing microorganisms utilizing Fe(III) as an electron acceptor were obtained from geothermally heated environments located on two continents (America, Eurasia) and on islands in the Northern (Iceland) and Southern (Fiji) hemispheres, demonstrating the wide distribution of these microorganisms. The main products of amorphic Fe(III) oxide reduction were magnetite and siderite. The observed temperature range for Fe(III) reduction in growing cultures was from 55 degrees C to 87 degrees C, extending the known limits for growth of Fe(III)-reducing microorganisms producing extracellular magnetite to nearly 90 degrees C.

Bacteria, Anaerobic↗

PubMed1997

Thermoterrabacterium ferrireducens gen. nov., sp. nov., a thermophilic anaerobic dissimilatory Fe(III)-reducing bacterium from a continental hot spring.

A strain of a thermophilic, anaerobic, dissimilatory, Fe(III)-reducing bacterium, Thermoterrabacterium ferrireducens gen. nov., sp. nov. (type strain JW/AS-Y7T; DSM 11255), was isolated from hot springs in Yellowstone National Park and New Zealand. The gram-positive-staining cells occurred singly or in pairs as straight to slightly curved rods, 0.3 to 0.4 by 1.6 to 2.7 microns, with rounded ends and exhibited a tumbling motility. Spores were not observed. The temperature range for growth was 50 to 74 degrees C with an optimum at 65 degrees C. The pH range for growth at 65 degrees C was from 5.5 to 7.6, with an optimum at 6.0 to 6.2. The organism coupled the oxidation of glycerol to reduction of amorphous Fe(III) oxide or Fe(III) citrate as an electron acceptor. In the presence as well as in the absence of Fe(III) and in the presence of CO2, glycerol was metabolized by incomplete oxidation to acetate as the only organic metabolic product; no H2 was produced during growth. The organism utilized glycerol, lactate, 1,2-propanediol, glycerate, pyruvate, glucose, fructose, mannose, and yeast extract as substrates. In the presence of Fe(III) the bacterium utilized molecular hydrogen. The organism reduced 9,10-anthraquinone-2,6-disulfonic acid, fumarate (to succinate), and thiosulfate (to elemental sulfur) but did not reduce MnO2, nitrate, sulfate, sulfite, or elemental sulfur. The G + C content of the DNA was 41 mol% (as determined by high-performance liquid chromatography). The 16S ribosomal DNA sequence analysis placed the isolated strain as a member of a new genus within the gram-type-positive Bacillus-Clostridium subphylum.

Bacillus↗

PubMed1997

Isolation and characterization of the homoacetogenic thermophilic bacterium Moorella glycerini sp. nov.

A thermophilic, anaerobic, spore-forming bacterium (strain JW/AS-Y6T) was isolated from a mixed sediment-water sample from a hot spring (Calcite Spring area) at Yellowstone National Park. The vegetative cells of this organism were straight rods, 0.4 to 0.6 by 3.0 to 6.5 microns. Cells occurred singly and exhibited a slight tumbling motility. They formed round refractile endospores in terminal swollen sporangia. Cells stained gram positive. The temperature range for growth at pH 6.8 was 43 to 65 degrees C, with optimum growth at 58 degrees C. The range for growth at 60 degrees C (pH60C; with the pH meter calibrated at 60 degrees C) was 5.9 to 7.8, with an optimum pH60C of 6.3 to 6.5. The substrates utilized included glycerol, glucose, fructose, mannose, galactose, xylose, lactate, glycerate, pyruvate, and yeast extract. In the presence of CO2, acetate was the only organic product from glycerol and carbohydrate fermentation. No H2 was produced during growth. The strain was not able to grow chemolithotrophically at the expense of H2-CO2; however, suspensions of cells in the exponential growth phase consumed H2. The bacterium reduced fumarate to succinate and thiosulfate to elemental sulfur. Growth was inhibited by ampicillin, chloramphenicol, erythromycin, rifampin, and tetracycline, but not by streptomycin. The G+C content of the DNA was 54.5 mol% (as determined by high-performance liquid chromatography). The 16S ribosomal DNA sequence analysis placed the isolate in the Gram type-positive Bacillus-Clostridium subphylum. On the basis of physiological properties and phylogenetic analysis we propose that the isolated strain constitutes a new species, Moorella glycerini; the type strain is JW/AS-Y6 (= DSM 11254 = ATCC 700316).

Base Composition↗

PubMed1997

Temperature determines the pattern of anaerobic microbial dechlorination of Aroclor 1260 primed by 2,3,4,6-tetrachlorobiphenyl in Woods Pond sediment.

Reductive dechlorination of the Aroclor 1260 residue in Woods Pond (Lenox, Mass.) sediment samples was investigated for a year at incubation temperatures from 4 to 66 degrees C. Sediment slurries were incubated anaerobically with and without 2,3,4,6-tetrachlorobiphenyl (2346-CB; 350 microM) as a primer for dechlorination of the Aroclor 1260 residue. Dechlorination of the Aroclor residue occurred only in live samples primed with 2346-CB and only at 8 to 34 degrees C and 50 to 60 degrees C. The extent and pattern of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) dechlorination were temperature dependent. At 8 to 34 degrees C, the dechlorination resulted in 28 to 65% decreases of the hexathrough nonachlorobiphenyls and corresponding increases in the tri- and tetrachlorobiphenyls. At 12 to 30 degrees C, 30 to 40% of the hexa- through nonachlorobiphenyls were dechlorinated in just 3 months. The optimal temperature for overall chlorine removal was 20 to 27 degrees C. We observed four different microbial dechlorination processes with different but partially overlapping temperature ranges, i.e., Process N (flanked meta dechlorination) at 8 to 30 degrees C, Process P (flanked para dechlorination) at 12 to 34 degrees C, Process LP (unflanked para dechlorination) at 18 to 30 degrees C, and Process T (a very restricted meta dechlorination of specific hepta- and octachlorobiphenyls) at 50 to 60 degrees C. These temperature ranges should aid in the development of strategies for the enrichment and isolation of the microorganisms responsible for each dechlorination process. The incubation temperature determined the relative dominance of the four PCB dechlorination processes and the extent and products of dechlorination. Hence, understanding the effects of temperature on PCB dechlorination at contaminated sites should assist in predicting the environmental fate of PCBs or planning bioremediation strategies at those sites.

Anaerobiosis↗