Fish-processing effluent discharges influenced physicochemical properties and prokaryotic community structure in arid soils from Patagonia.

Along the Patagonian coast, there are processing factories of marine products in land that produce fish-processing effluents. The aim of the present study was to assess the physicochemical properties and the prokaryotic community composition of soils receiving fish-processing effluent discharges (effluent site-ES), and to compare them with those of unaltered soils (control site-CS) in the arid Patagonian steppe. We analyzed soil prokaryotic communities (using amplicon-based sequencing of 16S rRNA genes), soil physicochemical properties and fish-processing effluent characteristics. Soil moisture, electrical conductivity (EC), total and inorganic C were significantly higher in ES than in CS (p < .05). Effluent discharges induced a decrease in the total number of operational taxonomic units (OTUs) and in the Shannon diversity index (p = .0009 and .01, respectively) of soil prokaryotic community. Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria and Acidobacteria were the dominant phyla in CS, while ES soil showed a more heterogeneous composition of phyla. Linear discriminant analysis (LDA) effect size (LEfSe) analysis showed that fish-processing effluent discharges promoted an enrichment of Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes, which are active contributors to organic matter mineralization, along with a decrease of oligotrophic phyla such as Acidobacteria, Chloroflexi, Armatimonadetes and Nitrospirae, commonly found in nutrient-poor arid soils. The concentrations of inorganic C and ammonium, the EC and the soil moisture explained 73% of the total variation within the community composition. Due to its salinity and nutrients, fish-processing effluents have potential mainly for native salt-tolerant plant irrigation, however the impacts of soil prokaryotic community shifts over plant growth remain to be determined.

Marine Lactobacillus pentosus H16 protects Artemia franciscana from Vibrio alginolyticus pathogenic effects.

Vibrio alginolyticus is an opportunistic pathogen which may affect different aquatic organisms. The aim of this study was to assess the probiotic properties and the protective mode of action of Lactobacillus pentosus H16 against V. alginolyticus 03/8525, through in vitro and in vivo studies using Artemia franciscana (hereafter Artemia). This strain showed antimicrobial activity against V. alginolyticus 03/8525 and Aeromonas salmonicida subsp. salmonicida ATCC33658 possibly related to lactobacilli organic acid production. It was able to survive at high rainbow trout bile concentrations and showed high selective adhesion to rainbow trout mucus (1.2×10(5)±8.0×10(3) cells cm(-2)). H16 outcompeted V. alginolyticus 03/8525 and A. salmonicida subsp. salmonicida ATCC33658, greatly reducing their adherence to rainbow trout mucus (64.8 and 74.1%, respectively). Moreover, H16 produced a cell-bound biosurfactant which caused an important decrease in the surface tension. H16 also protected Artemia nauplii against mortality when it was administered previous to V. alginolyticus 03/8525 inoculation. Furthermore, H16 bioencapsulated in Artemia, suggesting that it is possible to use live carriers in its administration. We conclude that the ability of L. pentosus H16 to selectively adhere to mucosal surfaces and produce cell-bound biosurfactants, displacing pathogenic strains, in addition to its antimicrobial activity, confer H16 competitive advantages against pathogens as demonstrated in in vivo challenge experiments. Thus, L. pentosus H16, a marine bacterium from the intestinal tract of hake, is an interesting probiotic for Artemia culture and also has the potential to prevent vibriosis in other aquaculture activities such as larvae culture and fish farming.

Degradation of linear alkylbenzene sulfonate by a bacterial consortium isolated from the aquatic environment of Argentina.

AIMS: To isolate and identify linear alkylbenzene sulfonate (LAS)-degrading bacteria from Río de la Plata and adjacent waters, and to assay their degradation capability as a consortium and as single organisms. METHODS AND RESULTS: A consortium consisting of four bacterial strains: Aeromonas caviae (two strains), Pseudomonas alcaliphila and Vibrio sp. was identified by 16S rRNA analysis. Isolates grown as a consortium produced higher biomass from LAS and CO(2) release (mineralization) than individual cultures, and degraded 86% of LAS (20 mg l(-1)), whereas pure strains degraded between 21% and 60%. Bacterial desulfonation from LAS was evidenced in the consortium and A. caviae strains. A complete disappearance of LAS (10 mg l(-1)) was accomplished, and LAS levels of 50 and 100 mg l(-1) led to a pronounced decrease in the biodegradation extent and inhibition of culture growth. CONCLUSIONS: A bacterial consortium capable of complete LAS degradation was isolated from the Río de la Plata and adjacent waters. This consortium was more efficient for LAS degradation than individual cultures, and was sensitive to high LAS concentrations. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: The autochthonous consortium with high effectiveness on LAS biodegradation is a useful tool for LAS depletion from these polluted ecosystems.

Biodegradation of bilge waste from Patagonia with an indigenous microbial community.

Oily residues that are generated in normal ship operation are considered hazardous wastes. A biodegradation assay with autochthonous microbiota of Bilge Waste Oily Phase (BWOP) was performed in a bioreactor under controlled conditions. Petroleum, diesel oil, and PAH degraders were isolated from bilge wastes. These bacteria belong to the genus Pseudomonas and are closely related to Pseudomonas stutzeri as shown by 16S rDNA phylogenetic analysis. The indigenous microbial community of the bilge waste was capable of biodegrading the BWOP (1% v/v) with biodegradation efficiencies of 70% for hexane extractable material (HEM), 68% for total hydrocarbons (TH) and 90% for total aromatics hydrocarbons (TA) in 14 days. Solid phase microextraction (SPME) was successfully applied to evaluate hydrocarbon evaporation in a control experiment and demonstrated a mass balance closure of 88%. The SPME and biodegradation results give useful information to improve and scale up the process for BWOP treatment.

Microbial characterization and hydrocarbon biodegradation potential of natural bilge waste microflora.

Shipping operations produce oily wastes that must be managed properly to avoid environmental pollution. The aim of this study was to characterize microorganisms occurring in ship bilge wastes placed in open lagoons and, particularly, to assess their potential to degrade polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). A first-order kinetic was suitable for describing hydrocarbon biodegradation after 17 days of treatment. The calculated rate constants were 0.0668 and 0.0513 day(-1) with a corresponding half-life of 10.3 and 13.5 days for the aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbon fractions, respectively. At day 17, PAH removal percentages were: acenaphtylene 100, fluorene 95.2, phenanthrene 93.6, anthracene 70.3, and pyrene 71.5. Methyl phenanthrene removals were lower than that of their parent compound (3-methyl phenanthrene 83.6, 2-methyl phenanthrene 80.8, 1-methyl phenanthrene 77.3, 9-methyl phenanthrene 75.1, and 2,7-dimethyl phenanthrene 76.6). Neither pure cultures nor the microbial community from these wastes showed extracellular biosurfactant production suggesting that the addition of an exogenously produced biosurfactant may be important in enhancing hydrocarbon bioavailability and biodegradation. DNA analysis of bilge waste samples revealed a ubiquitous distribution of the nahAc genotype in the dump pools. Although almost all of the isolates grew on naphthalene as sole carbon source, only some of them yielded nahAc amplification under the experimental conditions used. The variety of PAHs in bilge wastes could support bacteria with multiple degradation pathways and a diversity of catabolic genes divergent from the classical nah-like type.