The influence of Cr(VI) on the degradation of tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) by a typical species of white rot fungi, Pycnoporus sanguineus, was investigated in this study. The results showed that P. sanguineus together with its intracellular and extracellular enzyme could effectively degrade TBBPA. The degradation efficiency of TBBPA by both P. sanguineus and its enzymes decreased significantly when Cr(VI) concentration increased from 0 to 40 mg/L. The subsequent analysis about cellular distribution of TBBPA showed that the extracellular amount of TBBPA increased with the increment of Cr(VI) concentration, but the content of TBBPA inside fungal cells exhibited an opposite variation tendency. The inhibition of TBBPA degradation by P. sanguineus was partly attributed to the increase of cell membrane permeability and the decrease of cell membrane fluidity caused by Cr(VI). In addition, the decline of H+-ATPase and Mg2+-ATPase activities was also an important factor contributing to the suppression of TBBPA degradation in the system containing concomitant Cr(VI). Moreover, the activities of two typical extracellular lignin-degrading enzymes of P. sanguineus, MnP and Lac, were found to descend with ascended Cr(VI) level. Cr(VI) could also obviously suppress the gene expression of four intracellular enzymes implicated in TBBPA degradation, including two cytochrome P450s, glutathione S-transferases and pentachlorophenol 4-monooxygenase, which resulted in a decline of TBBPA degradation efficiency by fungal cells and intracellular enzyme in the presence of Cr(VI). Overall, this study provides new insights into the characteristics and mechanisms involved in TBBPA biodegradation by white rot fungi in an environment where heavy metals co-exist.
Keywords: Biodegradation; Co-contamination; Hexavalent chromium; Pycnoporus sanguineus; Tetrabromobisphenol A.
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