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Microbial community responses to bioremediation treatments for the mitigation of low-dose anthracene in marine coastal sediments of Bizerte lagoon (Tunisia)

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Abstract

Purpose

The main goals of this study were to investigate (1) the behavior of microbial communities in response to low-dose bioavailable anthracene addition in lightly contaminated sediment from Bizerte Lagoon and (2) the effects of bioremediation treatments on microbial biomass, activity, and community structure.

Methods

Sediment microcosms amended with 1 ppm anthracene were incubated in triplicate during 30 days. Biostimulation (addition of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizer) and bioaugmentation (inoculation of a hydrocarbonoclastic bacterium) were used as bioremediation treatments. Bacterial biomass was estimated using flow cytometry. Sediment oxygen consumption was measured with oxygen microelectrodes. Bacterial community structure was assessed by molecular fingerprints (terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism; T-RFLP) analysis.

Results

Anthracene contamination resulted in a significant reduction of bacterial abundance with an impact on cell integrity. Concomitantly, sediment oxygen consumption was strongly inhibited. Correspondence analysis on T-RFLP data indicated that bacterial community structures from anthracene-contaminated microcosms were different from that of the control. Interestingly, the changes observed in microbial biomass, structure, and activities as a result of anthracene contamination were not alleviated even with the use of biostimulation and combination of biostimulation and bioaugmentation strategy for anthracene bioremediation. Nevertheless, both treatment methods resulted in different community structures relative to the contaminated and control microcosms with the appearance of distinct populations.

Conclusion

Anthracene spiking severely affected microbial communities, suggesting dominance of nontolerant populations in this lightly-contaminated sediment. Although biostimulation and/or bioaugmentation treatments did not alleviate the anthracene toxic effects, the changes observed in microbial population and structure suggest that the proposed treatments might be promising to promote bacterial growth. Further works are still required to propose a more efficient strategy to stimulate biodegradation that takes into account the complex interactions between species for resource access.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by a funding of the CMCU (n° 09G 0189) and PHC-Utique (20894TE) programs, the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS/DGRST n°22629), and the Ministère Tunisien de la Recherche scientifique.

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Author notes

  1. Olivier Pringault

    Present address: UMR 5119 ECOSYM, Université Montpellier II, Station Méditerranéenne de l’Environnement Littoral, 2, rue des Chantiers, 34200, Sète, France

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire de Biosurveillance de l’Environnement, Faculté des Sciences de Bizerte, 7021 Zarzouna, Bizerte, Tunisia

    Hela Louati, Olfa Ben Said, Amel Soltani, Ezzeddine Mahmoudi & Patricia Aissa

  2. Equipe Environnement et Microbiologie—UMR CNRS IPREM 5254- IBEAS, Université de Pau et des Pays de l’Adour, 64013, Pau Cedex, France

    Olfa Ben Said, Amel Soltani, Cristiana Cravo-Laureau & Robert Duran

  3. Laboratoire Ecosystèmes Marins Côtiers, UMR 5119 CNRS-UM2-IFREMER- IRD-ECOSYM, Station Méditerranéenne de l’Environnement Littoral, 2, rue des Chantiers, 34200, Sète, France

    Hela Louati, Patrice Got & Olivier Pringault

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  1. Hela Louati
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Correspondence to Olivier Pringault.

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Louati, H., Said, O.B., Got, P. et al. Microbial community responses to bioremediation treatments for the mitigation of low-dose anthracene in marine coastal sediments of Bizerte lagoon (Tunisia). Environ Sci Pollut Res 20, 300–310 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-012-0860-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-012-0860-x

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