Cometabolic defluorination of two poly-fluoroalkyl substances by a new Sphingopyxis isolate.
Gao Z, Xiang X, Yan M, Liu Y, Wu Y
Soil Health
PFAS chemicals from industrial pollution and treated sewage sludge used as fertilizer have contaminated farmland and gardens worldwide, potentially ending up in the vegetables you grow and eat — and this bacterium offers a possible path to cleaning that contamination naturally.
Researchers found a tiny soil microbe that can chew through 'forever chemicals' — stubborn pollutants that normally resist all attempts at breakdown. By giving the microbe the right food alongside the pollutant, it was able to snap apart the nearly unbreakable chemical bonds holding those toxins together. This is a big deal because these chemicals build up in soil and in the food grown in it, and finding a living organism that destroys them is a rare and promising discovery.
Key Findings
Sphingopyxis sp. strain NJF-3 released 873 μM of fluoride from 1 mM of a fluorinated compound within 7 days, demonstrating strong defluorination capacity.
Adding 3,3-dimethylacrylic acid as a co-substrate boosted breakdown of one PFAS type (TFEA), degrading 27.3 μM over 28 days; ammonium acetate enabled 183 μM degradation of a second PFAS type (SFCA) over 60 days.
Genomic and chemical analysis revealed the bacterium dismantles PFAS via a β-oxidation pathway with hydroxylation-dehydration steps — the first clear mechanistic picture of how a pure microbial culture achieves C–F bond cleavage.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Scientists discovered a soil bacterium that can break down 'forever chemicals' (PFAS) — toxic industrial compounds that persist in soil and water for decades. By feeding the microbe specific nutrients, the team coaxed it into dismantling two PFAS molecules, releasing harmless fluoride ions in the process.
Abstract Preview
Microbial defluorination of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) likely involves cometabolic degradation. The isolation of pure cultures capable of this cometabolism would enhance our unders...
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