Spatial distribution and diversity of organohalide-respiring bacteria and their relationships with polybrominated diphenyl ether concentration in Taihu Lake sediments.

It is acknowledged that organohalide-respiring bacteria (OHRB) can degrade polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs); however, very little is known about the distribution of OHRB or their response to PBDE contamination in natural sediments. We collected sediments from 28 sampling sites in Taihu Lake, China, and investigated the spatial distribution and diversity of OHRB, and the relationships between the PBDE contamination levels and the PBDE removal potential. The abundances of five typical OHRB genera, namely Dehalobacter, Dehalococcoides, Dehalogenimonas, Desulfitobacterium, and Geobacter, ranged from 0.34 × 10 to 19.4 × 10 gene copies g dry sediment, and varied significantly among different areas of Taihu Lake. OHRB were more abundant in sediments from Meiliang and Zhushan Bay, where the PBDE concentrations were higher, and the phylotype diversity of the OHRB belonging to the family Dehalococcoidaceae was lower, than reported for other areas. While the sulfate concentrations explained much of the spatial distribution of OHRB, PBDE concentrations were also a strong influence on the abundance and diversity of OHRB in the sediments. For Dehalococcoides, Dehalogenimonas and Geobacter, the abundance of each genus was positively related to its own potential to remove PBDEs. The dominant OHRB genus, Dehalogenimonas, may contribute most to in situ bioremediation of PBDEs in Taihu Lake.