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The composition of atmospheric particulate matter, including particle-bound polyaromatic hydrocarbons, generally shows a clear seasonal pattern which is reflected in its ecotoxicity as well. This study aimed at characterising seasonal differences in the ecotoxicity of rural aerosol samples applying both luminescent bacteria and higher plants as test organisms. Higher plant phytotoxicity was assessed by the Sinapis alba root growth inhibition test and the Vegetative Vigour Test. Different bioassays and end-points showed different sensitivity: while the Sinapis alba assay showed no toxic effect, luminescent bacteria proved an excellent screening tool, detecting no toxicity in the summer sample and the highest inhibition in the winter sample, with EC20 = 9.87%. In the case of Vegetative Vigour Test, parallel application of different end-points revealed that atmospheric particulate matter might have a Janus-faced effect: stimulation of photosynthetic pigments due to nutrient content and growth impairment due to toxic components.

The intensive development of medical science has led to an increase in the availability and use of pharmaceutical products. However, nowadays, most of scientific attention has been paid to the native forms of pharmaceuticals, while the transformation products (TPs) of these substances, understood herein as metabolites, degradation products, and selected enantiomers, remain largely unexplored in terms of their characterization, presence, fate and effects within the natural environment. Therefore, the main aim of this study was to evaluate the toxicity of seven native compounds belonging to different therapeutic groups (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, opioid analgesics, beta-blockers, antibacterial and anti-epileptic drugs), along with the toxicity of their 13 most important TPs. For this purpose, an ecotoxicological test battery, consisting of five organisms of different biological organization was used. The obtained data shows that, in general, the toxicity of TPs to the tested organisms was similar or lower compared to their parent compounds. However, for example, significantly higher toxicity of the R form of ibuprofen to algae and duckweed, as well as a higher toxicity of the R form of naproxen to luminescent bacteria, was observed, proving that the risk associated with the presence of drug TPs in the environment should not be neglected. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s11356-020-08881-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Bioluminescent living organisms emit light through a specific biocatalyzed reaction involving a luciferin substrate and a luciferase enzyme. The present work investigated the possibility of creating optimal luminescence by immobilization of one or both the enzymes Luciferase (Luc) and FMN reductase (Red) involved in a bioluminescent bacterial system onto a plasma-activated microfibrous PET nonwoven. Parameters affecting the catalytic activity and efficiency of the bacterial system in aqueous medium were determined by luminescence intensity measurements using a luminometer. Two types of plasma, air atmospheric plasma (ATMP) and cold remote plasma (CRPNO) treatment, were used to activate the PET nonwoven. Further, one or both enzyme(s) were immobilized using a physical adsorption technique, without or with the use of natural biopolymers (gelatin and starch) and bovine serum albumin-BSA protein, to improve enzyme stability and activity. Coimmobilization of both Red and Luc enzymes on the CRPNO plasma-activated nonwoven in the presence of BSA led to the maximum luminescence. As high as 60,000 RLU equivalent to that of an LED light used for calibration was observed and showed stable intensity up to 6 min. Fiber surface analysis was tested using wettability tests (water contact angle and capillary uptake), while scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis showed changes in fiber surface morphology and chemical functional groups. A considerable increase in "N" atom content after coimmobilization of enzymes in the presence of BSA was detected. This study is the first successful attempt to use a biomimetic strategy for immobilization of enzymes involved in bacterial luminescence on a plasma-activated microfibrous nonwoven in an attempt to attain bioluminescent materials.

Introduction: Bioluminescence is the ability of certain organisms to transform chemical energy into light energy through various biochemical processes. Objective: Isolation and identification for the first time of luminescent bacteria of superficial marine water, and the identification of marine luminescent dinoflagellates of Isla del Coco National Park, Costa Rica. Methods: Samples of seawater obtained by diving at 20 m and at a surface level of 13 sites were collected. On the other hand, phytoplankton samples collected from the surface up to 30 m deep were analyzed in the surroundings of 8 sites of Cocos Island, and several luminescent species belonging to the genera Ornithocercus and Ceratocorys were determined. Results: Seven luminescent bacterial isolates were obtained, they were identified and characterized biochemically by means of an automated platform (Vitek) with high levels of confidence, they were taxonomically located within the genus Vibrio, 2 species: V. alginolyticus and V. parahaemolyticus, in addition, some isolates presented resistance to the antibiotic ampicillin and 100% hemolytic capacity. This research shows evidence of the presence of marine microscopic species in Cocos Island, Costa Rica, capable of presenting the phenomenon of luminescence, so that further study would be relevant in terms of the importance of these microorganisms in the production of metabolites secondary and as indicators of harmful algal blooms, so it is necessary to conduct more scientific research to determine their biotechnological potential. Conclusions: In the same way, the results obtained in this investigation suggest expanding the collection and isolation of luminescent microorganisms, accompanied by a biochemical and molecular characterization, in order to explore the microbial diversity associated with luminescence events and determine the environments in which that these species develop. Introducción: La bioluminiscencia es la capacidad de ciertos organismos para transformar la energía química en energía luminosa a través de varios procesos bioquímicos. Objetivo: Aislamiento e identificación por primera vez de bacterias luminiscentes de aguas marinas superficiales, e identificación de dinoflagelados luminiscentes marinos del Parque Nacional Isla del Coco, Costa Rica. Métodos: Se recolectaron muestras de agua de mar obtenidas al bucear a 20 my a nivel de superficie de 13 sitios. Por otro lado, se analizaron muestras de fitoplancton recolectadas desde la superficie hasta 30 m de profundidad en los alrededores de 8 sitios de la Isla del Coco, y se determinaron varias especies luminiscentes pertenecientes a los géneros Ornithocercus y Ceratocorys. Resultados: Se obtuvieron siete aislados bacterianos luminiscentes, se identificaron y caracterizaron bioquímicamente mediante una plataforma automatizada (Vitek) con altos niveles de confianza, se ubicaron taxonómicamente dentro del género Vibrio, 2 especies: V. alginolyticus y V. parahaemolyticus, además, algunos aislados presentaron resistencia al antibiótico ampicilina y capacidad hemolítica del 100%. Esta investigación muestra evidencia de la presencia de especies microscópicas marinas en la Isla del Coco, Costa Rica, capaces de presentar el fenómeno de la luminiscencia, por lo que sería relevante un mayor estudio en cuanto a la importancia de estos microorganismos en la producción de metabolitos secundarios y como indicadores. de las floraciones de algas nocivas, por lo que es necesario realizar más investigaciones científicas para determinar su potencial biotecnológico. Conclusiones: De la misma manera, los resultados obtenidos en esta investigación sugieren ampliar la colección y aislamiento de microorganismos luminiscentes, acompañados de una caracterización bioquímica y molecular, con el fin de explorar la diversidad microbiana asociada a eventos de luminiscencia y determinar los ambientes en los que estos las especies se desarrollan. Universidad Nacional, Costa Rica Universidad de Costa Rica Escuela de Ciencias Biológicas

Wastewater from pharmaceutical and related industries contains many residual pharmaceutical components rich in color and high COD contents, which cannot be removed through the traditional wastewater treatment processes. Recently, microbial electrolysis ultraviolet cell (MEUC) process has shown its promising potential to remove recalcitrant organics because of its merits of wide pH range, iron-free, and without complications of iron sludge production. However, its application to the real pharmaceutical-rich industrial wastewater is still unknown. In this study, the MEUC process was validated with real ciprofloxacin-rich (6863.79 ± 2.21 µg L−1) industrial wastewater (6840 ± 110 mg L−1 of COD). The MEUC process achieved 100% removal of ciprofloxacin, 100% decolorization, and 99.1% removal of COD within 12, 60 and 30 h, respectively, when it was operated at pH-controlled at 7.8, applied voltage of 0.6 V, UV intensity of 10 mW cm−2, and cathodic aeration velocity of 0.005 mL min−1 mL−1. Moreover, fluorescence analysis showed that protein- and humic-like substances in such wastewater were effectively removed, providing further evidence of its high treatment efficiency. Furthermore, eco-toxicity testing with luminescent bacteria Vibro Feschri confirmed that the treated effluent was utterly non-toxic. The results demonstrated the broad application potential of MEUC technology for treating industrial wastewater.

In this present work, mesoporous silica nanoparticles were evaluated as possible drug-delivery platforms. Three different types of mesoporous silica nanoparticles, MNs, MNs@EPI and SPION@2D-MNs, were synthesized and characterized. These nanomaterials were then subjected to loading assays of epirubicin, doxorubicin and ofloxacin, both in a single and dual-loading perspective. Both epirubicin and doxorubicin presented the highest loading percentages and encapsulation efficacies, when in comparison with ofloxacin. These different loading percentages are tightly connected with electrostatic interactions between the drugs and the matrix. These loaded nanomaterials were then subjected to in vitro release assays at both pH 7.4 and pH 4.0, which revealed increased release percentages at more acidic pH values, indicating the system presents pH sensitivity for drug release. Antibacterial assays with both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria were also performed for all previously obtained nanomaterials. The most effective formulation was ofloxacin loaded MNs@EPI (MNs@EPI-OFLO) due to the presence of synergetic effects between the drug and the matrix. Synergy was also detected for cocktails containing epirubicin and ofloxacin in formulations with MNs and SPION@2D-MNs as matrixes. A new protocol for assessment of bacterial viability was also developed. Herein Escherichia coli (ATCC®8739TM) was transformed with a plasmid that confers constitutive bioluminescence to bacteria. Phenotypic characteristics confirmation, antibiotic susceptibility and temporal growth assays were performed to ensure the integrity of the strain and optimize the conditions in which the assay was conducted. Subsequently, the luminescent E.coli was employed for the assessment of the antibacterial activity of previously assayed nanomaterials. Results obtained with luminescent bacteria were similar to the ones obtained with non-luminescent E.coli, verifying the reliability of the assay. Luminescence measurements allow for an easy and quick detection of metabolic response in bacteria, enabling a thorough detection of antibacterial activity of a wide variety of samples. Neste trabalho, nanopartículas mesoporosas de sílica foram avaliadas como possíveis plataformas para drug-delivery. Três diferentes tipos de nanopartículas mesoporosas de sílica, MNs, MNs@EPI e SPION@2D-MNs foram sintetizadas e caracterizadas. Estes nanomateriais foram sujeitos a ensaios de carregamento de epirubicina, doxorubicina e ofloxacina, tanto numa perspetiva singular como dupla. Tanto a epirubicina como a doxorubicina apresentaram percentagens de carregamento e eficácia de encapsulamento mais elevadas, em comparação com a ofloxacina. Estas percentagens de carregamento diferentes estão estreitamente relacionadas com interações eletrostáticas entre os fármacos e a matriz. Estes nanomateriais carregados foram então sujeitos a ensaios de libertação in vitro a pH 7.4 e pH 4.0, o que revelou um incremento nas percentagens de libertação a valores de pH mais acídicos, indicando que o sistema exibe sensitividade ao pH quanto à libertação de fármacos. A atividade antibacteriana de todos os nanomateriais anteriormente obtidos foi testada em bactérias, tanto Gram-positivas como Gram-negativas. A formulação mais eficaz foi MNs@EPI carregada com ofloxacina (MNs@EPI-OFLO), devido à presença de efeitos sinérgicos entre os fármacos e a matriz. Foi igualmente verificado um efeito de sinergia em cocktails contendo epirubicina e ofloxacina em formulações apresentando MNs e SPION@2D-MNs como matrizes. Um novo protocolo para a determinação de viabilidade bacteriana foi também desenvolvido. Para esse fim, procedeu-se à transformação de Escherichia coli (ATCC® 8739TM), bactéria utilizada nos ensaios de atividade antimicrobiana, com um plasmídeo que confere bioluminescência constitutiva. Após a transformação foram efetuados ensaios de confirmação das características fenotípicas e de suscetibilidade a antibióticos, bem como curvas de crescimento temporal para assegurar a integridade da estirpe e otimizar as condições nas quais o ensaio foi realizado. Subsequentemente, as bactérias E. coli luminescentes foram utilizadas para a determinação do potencial antimicrobiano dos nanomateriais anteriormente testados. Os resultados obtidos nestes ensaios foram semelhantes aos obtidos com as bactérias não-luminescentes, verificando a fiabilidade do mesmo. As medições de luminescência permitem uma fácil e rápida deteção de respostas metabólicas em bactérias, possibilitando uma deteção da atividade antibacteriana de uma grande variedade de amostras.

Thorium is one of the most widespread radioactive elements in natural ecosystems, along with uranium, it is the most important source of nuclear energy. However, the effects of thorium on living organisms have not been thoroughly studied. Marine luminescent bacteria and their enzymes are optimal bioassays for studying low-dose thorium exposures. Luminescent bioassays provide a quantitative measure of toxicity and are characterized by high rates, sensitivity, and simplicity. It is known that the metabolic activity of bacteria is associated with the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). We studied the effects of thorium-232 (10−11–10−3 M) on Photobacterium phosphoreum and bacterial enzymatic reactions; kinetics of bacterial bioluminescence and ROS content were investigated in both systems. Bioluminescence activation was revealed under low-dose exposures (

Bioluminescence occurs through a chemical reaction in organisms that spontaneously produce light. Luminescent bacteria are unique among bioluminescent organisms. Their bioluminescence intensity is an indicator of their metabolic activity, which can directly reflect the influence of environmental factors on cell viability. Moreover, the whole bioluminescence process is totally gene encoded without the addition of extra substrates. As a result, bacterial bioluminescence has been a powerful tool for whole-cell biosensors and bio-reporters in bioanalysis and bioimaging. This review aims to cover the applications of wild-type and recombinant luminescent bacteria to detect the toxicity of environmental pollutants and biological molecules. The bacterial bioluminescence analytical assay has characteristics such as high sensitivity, short-term detection, and easy operation. Meanwhile, due to the development of gene engineering and optical technology, bacterial luciferase as a reporter protein has been successfully expressed in prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells, tissues, and organs of animals. The major applications for bacterial luciferase-based bioluminescence imaging, such as infectious diseases, cancer therapy, and stem cell tracing, are discussed in this review.

The present study was carried out to isolate luminescent bacteria from the sediment sample collected from mangrove areas in Parangipettai. The luminous bacteria density was found to be 5 X 104 CFU/g in sediment samples. Totally 10 luminous bacteria selected for biochemical analysis and genus level identification. The results shows all ten bacterial isolates were belonging to the genus Vibrio sp. Vibrio sp are the good indicator of the environmental conditions. Hence, it is useful to assess the environmental conditions of an aquatic environment.

In the bioethanol industry, per liter of the produced alcohol 9 to 14 liters of vinasse are obtained as a byproduct. If the vinasse is directly shed into bodies of water without an adequate treatment, it may have negative effects on the existing biota and human health due to its high turbidity and color, low pH and high content of organic material. The purpose of this study was to assess the acute toxicity of vinasse by means of a rapid test with Aliivibrio fischeri and compare it with a standard immobilization assay with Daphnia magna. The standard assay of D. magna by means of its EC50 of 4.7% showed that organism was more sensitive to the contaminant, in comparison with the 69.6% obtained with the A. fischeri which suggests that it should be continuesly used as one of the organisms of first choice for the evaluation of the acute toxicity of this effluent.

The humic-like substances were the main organic components in most wastewater (e.g. domestic sewage, toilet wastewater and landfill leachate). Two types of actual humic-like substances (fulvic acid (FA) and biologically treated landfill leachate (BTLL)) were selected to describe the changes in the properties of humic-like substances (complexation ability, aromaticity and mobility) during electrochemical oxidation. Meanwhile, the acute cytotoxicity of FA and BTLL was also tested by acute toxicological test of luminescent bacteria. The results showed that the consumption of coordinating groups such as phenolic groups and hydrogen bonds reduced the complexation ability of FA and BTLL. The functional groups were degraded with the removal order of quinone group, phenolic group and aromatic group, and finally realized the molecular saturation and aromaticity decrease for humic-like substances. The mobility of FA and BTLL was decreased because of the enhancement of hydrophobicity during electrolysis process. Furthermore, the available chlorine produced during electrochemical oxidation was the main acute cytotoxicity substance, therefore, it is necessary to remove it before discharge in order to reduce ecological risks. This study provides a basis for understanding and evaluating the electrochemical degradation process of humic-like substances in detail.

This study investigated the degradation of benzophenone-4 (BP-4) in a UV/chlorine disinfection process, with chlorination and UV disinfection as comparisons. With a degradation efficiency of 80% after 10 s, the UV/chlorine process significantly enhanced the degradation of BP-4. However, a rebound of 36% of the initial concentration was observed in the UV/chlorine process ([free active chlorine (FAC)]0:[BP-4]0 = 1:1, pH = 7). The same tendency appeared under the addition of alkalinity, Cl−, and humic acid (HA). This work interpreted this interesting kinetic tendency from the perspective of mechanism. In fact, the transformation between the chlorinated product P1 and BP-4 was reversible under certain conditions. The inhomogeneous charge distribution of the C Cl bond in P1 led to the photolytic dechlorination of P1. This transformation caused an increase in BP-4 concentration. In addition, the increase in the UV light power promoted the photodecomposition of P1 under the experimental condition. In addition, this study evaluated the change in absorbable organic halogens (AOX) and three kinds of toxicity changes in the BP-4 solution after chlorination and the UV/chlorine process, including the acute toxicity of luminescent bacteria, endocrine disrupting effect and cytotoxicity. The UV/chlorine process exhibited lower ecotoxicity than chlorination in water treatment.

Previous studies demonstrated long-term stimulation of some commercial personal care products (PCPs) on freshwater luminescent bacteria Vibrio qinghaiensis sp .-Q67 (Q67). However, whether a certain component can affect mixture's hormetic effect is still unknown. In this paper, two of ingredients in PCPs, 2-phenoxyethanol (PhE) and polyethylene glycol 400 (PEG400), were selected as object compounds to explore the relationship between concentration-response (CR) of mixtures and that of a single component. It was found that PEG400 has monotonic CR (MCR) on Q67 both at the short-term (0.25 h) and long-term (12 h) exposures while PhE has MCR at 0.25 h and hormetic CR (HCR) at 12 h. Here, the concentration-response curves (CRCs) of PEG400 at 0.25 and 12 h are overlapped each other and the CRCs of PEG400 are on the right of PhE. If the pEC 50 is taken as a toxic index, the toxicities of PEG400 at two times are basically the same, and those of PhE are the same, too, but PhE is twice as toxic as PEG400. For the mixtures of PEG400 and PhE, all rays except R1 have MCRs at 0.25 h while all rays have HCRs at 12 h where the higher the mixture ratio of PhE is, the more negative the maximum stimulation effect is. More importantly, the E min values of all rays are more negative (1.79–3.17-fold) than that of PhE worked alone, which implies that the introduction of PEG400 significantly enhances stimulative effect of PhE. At 0.25 h, all binary mixture rays but R1 produce a low-concentration additive action and high-concentration synergism. At 12 h, all rays display additive action, antagonism, additive action, and synergism in turn when the concentration changes from low to high. The overall findings suggested toxicological interactions should be considered in the risk assessment of PCPs and their potential impacts on ecological balances.

Diclofenac was frequently found in various waters, indicating conventional wastewater treatment methods ineffective in its removal. In this study, LaFeO3 (LFO) was synthesized and its catalytic activity of LFO as the activator of different oxidants such as persulfate (PS), hydrogen peroxide and peroxylmonosulfate (PMS) was evaluated in terms of DCF degradation. The influence of calcination temperature was examined on the catalytic activity of LFO. The effects of various parameters including pH levels, PMS concentration, LFO dose and initial DCF concentration were investigated on DCF degradation rate. The marginal effects of PMS concentration and LFO dose were compared. Langmuir-Hinshelwood (LH) model was used to quantitatively describe DCF degradation reaction in LFO/PMS system. The two constants, k (Limiting reaction rate at maximum coverage) and K (Equilibrium adsorption constant), were determined on the basis of LH model. The performance of LFO/PMS process was also estimated in the presence of various inorganic anions. The potential toxicity of LFO and PMS were evaluated using phytoplankton and the toxicity evolution during DCF degradation was also investigated using luminescent bacteria. This contribution provides a basic study regarding the potential application of heterogeneous PMS activation by perovskite LFO for both DCF removal and toxicity elimination.

Background A European inter-laboratory test with 29 participating laboratories investigated whether a battery of four ecotoxicological tests is suitable for assessing the environmental compatibility of construction products. For this purpose, a construction product was investigated with the dynamic surface leaching test (DIN CEN/TS 16637-2) and the percolation test (DIN CEN/TS 16637-3). The eluates were produced centrally by one laboratory and were tested by the participants using the following biotests: algae test (ISO 8692), acute daphnia test (ISO 6341), luminescent bacteria test (DIN EN ISO 11348), and fish egg test (DIN EN ISO 15088). As toxicity measures, EC50 and LID values were calculated. Results Toxic effects of the eluates were detected by all four biotests. The bacteria test was by far the most sensitive, followed by the algae test and the daphnia test; the fish egg test was the least sensitive for eluates of both leaching tests. The toxicity level of the eluates was very high in the bacteria, daphnia, and algae test, with lowest ineffective dilution values of LID = 70 to LID = 13,000 and corresponding EC50 values around or even below 1 volume percent. The reproducibility (approximated by interlaboratory variability) of the biotests was good ( Conclusion It can be confirmed that the combination of leaching and ecotoxicity tests is suitable to characterize with sufficient reproducibility the environmental impact posed by the release of hazardous substances from construction products.

Fifteen native luminescent bacteria were isolated from the Gulf of Thailand, and their sensitivity for the detection of toxicity of crude oil and its aromatic components was investigated. Of these isolates, Vibrio campbellii strain FS5 was one of the two most highly inhibited bacteria at all crude oil concentrations. This bacterium showed a decrease in luminescence intensity of between 10.7 and 80.2% after a 15-min exposure to 0.0001–10 mg/L of crude oil. The degree of bioluminescence inhibition increased with increasing concentrations of crude oil. The presence of crude oil at all concentrations had negative effects on the log bioluminescence per log number of viable cells after 15- to 105-min exposure. About 10 to 100 times, lower half maximal effective concentration (EC50) values were observed for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) than those for benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene (BTEX). In the presence of each individual BTEX and PAH, the bioluminescence inhibition increased with increasing exposure time (1–32 h). This indigenous bacterium can be used as a simple and general indicator of oil contamination and its impact on coastal waters as well as for assessing potential toxicity during oil bioremediation.

Introduction: The light-emitting enzyme complex of luminescent bacteria is a powerful biochemical tool, with a wide variety of applications includ-ing environmental quality monitoring. Objectives: To identify taxonomically two luminescent bacteria from Cuban shelf waters, as well as select the culture media that favor their growth and luminescence. Methods: The taxonomic location of the luminescent bacteria was carried out using traditional and molecular methods. Four culture media (LM, Boss, Chalk, ZoBell) were evaluated as a function of specific growth rate (μ) and lumines-cence, using a Genesys 10UV spectrophotometer and a Shimadzu RF-5301pc spectrofluorometer, respectively.Results: Biochemical and physiological characterization of CBM-976 and CBM-992 isolates showed similari-ties with Vibrio harveyi species. Phylogenetic positioning analysis confirmed a high correspondence with V. harveyi strains isolated from aquatic environments, using partial sequences of 16S rRNA, gyrB and pyrH genes. LM and ZoBell culture media were selected for having a high specific growth rate of CBM-976 and CBM-992 strains, as well as for showing high luminescence values. The results will allow deepening the physiological characterization and are the starting point for the development of contaminant detection methods. Conclusions: The rational combination of physiological and biochemical characteristics, as well as the molecular approach, contributed to determine the taxonomic position of CBM-976 and CBM-992 strains isolated from Cuban marine waters as Vibrio harveyi. Furthermore, LM and ZoBell culture media were selected as the most suitable for growth and luminescence emission for both strains. Introducción: El complejo de enzimas emisoras de luz de bacterias luminiscentes es una poderosa herramienta bioquímica, con una amplia variedad de aplicaciones, incluido el monitoreo de la calidad ambiental. Objetivos: Identificar taxonómicamente dos bacterias luminiscentes de la plataforma de aguas cubanas, así como seleccionar los medios de cultivo que favorezcan su crecimiento y luminiscencia. Métodos: La localización taxonómica de las bacterias luminiscentes se realizó mediante métodos tradicionales y moleculares. Se evaluaron cuatro medios de cultivo (LM, Boss, Chalk, ZoBell) en función de la tasa de crecimiento específico (μ) y luminiscencia, utilizando un espectrofotómetro Genesys 10UV y un espectrofluorómetro Shimadzu RF-5301pc, respectivamente. Resultados: Caracterización bioquímica y fisiológica de los aislados de CBM-976 y CBM-992 mostraron similitudes con las especies de Vibrio harveyi. El análisis de posicionamiento filogenético confirmó una alta correspondencia con las cepas de V. harveyi aisladas de ambientes acuáticos, utilizando secuencias parciales de los genes 16S rRNA, gyrB y pyrH. Los medios de cultivo LM y ZoBell se seleccionaron por tener una alta tasa de crecimiento específico de las cepas CBM-976 y CBM-992, así como por mostrar altos valores de luminiscencia. Los resultados permitirán profundizar en la caracterización fisiológica y son el punto de partida para el desarrollo de métodos de detección de contaminantes. Conclusiones: La combinación racional de características fisiológicas y bioquímicas, así como el enfoque molecular, contribuyeron a determinar la posición taxonómica de cepas CBM-976 y CBM-992 aisladas de aguas marinas cubanas como Vibrio harveyi. Además, los medios de cultivo LM y ZoBell se seleccionaron como los más adecuados para el crecimiento y la emisión de luminiscencia para ambas cepas. Universidad Nacional, Costa Rica Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología y Medio Ambiente, Cuba Universidad de La Habana, Cuba Escuela de Ciencias Biológicas

Due to their widespread use and harmful effects on aquatic environment, sulfonamide antibiotics (SAs) have become an emerging pollutant of great concern around the world. In this study, we investigated the degradation process and mechanism of sulfamerazine (SMR), sulfadiazine (SDZ), and sulfapyridine (SPD) by electron-beam irradiation (EBI). The results showed that the three SAs were well suited to the pseudo-first-order reaction kinetics, and they could be almost completely removed with high efficiency (5 kGy). Among the environmental factors, pH (3.0) and O2 atmosphere can further enhance the removal of the sulfonamides (SAs), while NO2− has the most pronounced degrading inhibitory effects among the many ions, these results illustrate that hydroxyl radicals play a dominant role. Compared with SMR and SDZ, the degree of mineralization of lower molecular weight SPD is obvious (45%). LC-MS and DFT calculations indicate that the concentrations of degradation products of the three SAs show a tendency to increase and then decrease, demonstrating that EBI can achieve efficient removal and further mineralization of SAs. Meanwhile, the results of the common product 4-Aminophenol produced during the degradation process further indicate that HO is the predominant reactive oxygen species (ROS). In addition, acute toxicity experiments with luminescent bacteria and predictions of ECOSAR procedures proved the toxic effects greatly decreased after the degradation. This study provides new ideas for achieving efficient and profound removal of emerging pollutants from the aquatic environment.

Although luminescent bacteria-based bioluminescence inhibition assay has been widely used in the toxicity assessment of environmental pollutants, the response of a luminescent bacterium usually lacks specificity to a target analyte. Recently, some specific analyte inductive promoters were fused to the lux genes for the purpose of selective bioluminescent sensing, and suits of specific promoters were fused to lux genes to compose a bioluminescent array sensor for simultaneous identification of multiple analytes. However, specific promoter-based methods still suffer from drawbacks including limited selectivity, slow responding time, expensive to construct different promoters involved plasmids, and laborious to find new promoters. Herein, we proposed a novel strategy to construct a lux reporter array sensor by directly transforming the natural lux genes in different bacterial hosts without the involvement of any specific promoters. Due to the distinct pathways of signal production, the responding time of the current different bacterial host (DBH)-based lux reporter array has nearly an order of magnitude faster than with specific promoter-based methods. The DBH-based lux reporter array was successfully used for simultaneous identification, quantification, and toxicity/bioactivity assessment of multiple metal ions. Obviously, all the chemical synthetic material-based metal ion sensing methods cannot simultaneously achieve analysis and toxicity evaluation. This approach possessed additional advantages of facile construction, easy operation, high selectivity, fast response, and strong adaptability to other analytes. A different bacterial host-based lux reporter array was established for simultaneous analysis and toxicity assessment of multiple metal ions.

Trans-resveratrol becomes more and more popular all over the world as a powerful antioxidant. Since its positive properties, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor are indisputable, nowadays trans-resveratrol is used as a component of various products from nutriceutics to body care formulations, where it is supposed to behave as natural antioxidant and anti-aging compound. It is also added to food packaging materials to increase their stability or/and prevent oxidation. Nevertheless, being released to the environment resveratrol easily forms various transformation products with potentially negative environmental and health effects. The present paper deals with transformation of pure resveratrol and its formulation used as UV-protectors in conditions of aquatic chlorination. Over 80 transformation products were tentatively identified using gas chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry (GC-HRMS) and ultra pressure liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry (UPLC-HRMS). Chlorinated phenols and biphenyls are the most relevant among them. Estimation of toxicity of resveratrol products was carried out using luminescent bacteria V. fischeri tests.

Developments in industrial applications inevitably accelerate the discharge of enormous substances into the environment, whereas multi-component mixtures commonly cause joint toxicity which is distinct from the simple sum of independent effect. Thus, ecotoxicological assessment, by luminescent bioassays has recently brought increasing attention to overcome the environmental risks. Based on the above viewpoint, this review included a brief introduction to the occurrence and characteristics of toxic bioassay based on the luminescent bacteria. In order to assess the environmental risk of mixtures, a series of models for the prediction of the joint effect of multi-component mixtures have been summarized and discussed in-depth. Among them, Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship (QSAR) method which was widely applied in silico has been described in detail. Furthermore, the reported potential mechanisms of joint toxicity on the luminescent bacteria were also overviewed, including the Trojan-horse type mechanism, funnel hypothesis, and fishing hypothesis. The future perspectives toward the development and application of toxicity assessment based on luminescent bacteria were proposed.

In this study, a biosensor is designed to remove mercury as a toxic metal contaminant from the soil. The rhamnolipid biosurfactant was used to extract the mercury sorbed to soil to the aqueous phase. An immobilized bioluminescent bacterium (Escherichia coli MC106) with pmerRBPmerlux plasmid is assisted for mercury detection. A significant decrease in luminescence level was observed in a biosensor system containing contaminated soil sample extract. The concentrations of extracting mercury are well correlated with the mercury toxicity data obtained from experimental biosensor systems according to the RBL value. The optimum aeration rate of 20 ml/min was obtained for the biosensor systems. The advantage of such a biosensor is the in situ quantification of mercury as a heavy metal contaminant in soils. Therefore, this system could be proposed as a good biosensor-based alternative for future detection of heavy toxic metals in soils.

The production of biodegradable plastics is considered to be a way to reduce plastic waste issue. Among others, oxo-degradant additives enable a faster degradation of plastics in the environment. However, the introduction of these new materials could provoke the release of substances potentially toxic in the environment. This work determined and compared the toxicity of leachates from various additivated polymers (polyethylene, PE; polypropylene, PP; polystyrene, PS) upon different test organisms: plants (Sorghum saccharatum, Lepidium sativum, Sinapis alba, and Vicia faba), crustacean (Daphnia magna), and luminescent bacteria (Vibrio fischeri). Daphnia magna survival was mainly affected by PS and PP leachates (72% and 61% effect, respectively) while PS notably reduced the reproduction rate. On plants, only PP exerted a negative effect (S. saccharatum IG% 32.4), while V. fischeri always showed values around 50%. The data integration, through the Toxicity Test Battery Integrated Index (TBI) approach, allowed to rank the leachates toxicity as PE > PS > PP. This result could be mainly ascribable to the highest metals content in PE since no difference with organic compounds analysis was evidenced. In conclusion, since the polymers exerted dissimilar toxicity, the additive could not be considered the sole responsible of the measured toxicity, but its role in the enhancement of the virgin polymers leachates effects can be solidly hypothesized.

Проблематика. Сучасною проблемою є визначення особливостей характеристик різних мікроорганізмів для біоіндикації активності стану геофізичних параметрів середовища.Мета. Виявлення кореляційних залежностей між значеннями інтенсивності світіння бактерій Photobacterium phosphoreum та факторами, що визначають геомагнітну активність.Методика реалізації. Визначались оптимальні параметри суспензії для досліджень інтенсивності біолюмінісценції як біоіндикатора стану геомагнітного поля. Протягом 2 місяців проводили моніторинг питомої інтенсивності світіння бактерій і порівнювали її зі щоденними значеннями активності геомагнітного поля в умовах м. Києва в години проведення досліджень біолюмінесценції. Визначення варіацій геомагнітного поля проводилось за даними Центру прогнозу космічної погоди Національного управління океанічних і атмосферних досліджень США. Опис сонячної активності проводили для “чисел Вольфа” та потоку сонячного радіовипромінювання на довжині хвилі 10,7 см.Результати. Було розраховано коефіцієнти кореляції змін щоденних значень інтенсивності біолюмінесценції бактерій та порівняно їх зі значенням К-індексу та Ар-індексу, “чисел Вольфа” і потоку сонячного радіовипромінювання. Визначено обернено пропорційний достовірний середній кореляційний зв’язок R = -0,41 між значеннями питомої бактеріальної люмінесценції та К-індексами геомагнітного поля, а зі значеннями потоку сонячного радіовипромінювання встановлено достовірний прямо пропорційний зв’язок. Показано, що при збільшенні інтенсивності варіацій геомагнітного поля відбувається зменшення значень питомої інтенсивності біолюмінесценції бактерій.Висновки. Показано наявність достовірної оберненої залежності між К-індексами геомагнітного поля та питомою інтенсивністю люмінесценції P. рhosphoreum, коефіцієнт кореляції у місяці з підвищеною геомагнітною активністю дорівнював R = -0,51. Використання автоматизованої системи моніторингу інтенсивності світіння люмінесцентних бактерій дає можливість краще прогнозувати в часі наявність збурень магнітного поля Землі., Background. An actual problem is determination of features of different micro-organisms for the activity bioindication of environment geophysical parameter state.Objective. The aim of the paper is to determine correlation dependences between values of luminescence intensity of bacteria Photobacterium phosphoreum and factors determining geomagnetic activity.Methods. The optimum parameters of suspension were determined for research of bioluminescence intensity as a bioindicator of the geomagnetic field state. The monitoring of specific intensity of bacteria luminescence has been carried out for 2 months and it was compared to the daily values of activity of the geomagnetic field in the conditions of Kiev, during the research of bioluminescence. Vari­ation determination of the geomagnetic field was conducted from data of Space Environment Center, NOAA & U.S. Air Force. Description of sun activity was conducted with the use of the "Wolf numbers" and flux of sun radio radiation at a wavelength 10,7 сm.Results. The correlation coefficients of changes of bacteria bioluminescence intensity daily values were calculated and compared to the K-index and Ap-index values, "Wolf numbers", and flux of sun radio radiation. The inverse proportional reliable average correlation was defined R = -0,41 between the values of specific bacterial luminescence and the K-indexes of the geomagnetical field, and with the values of flux of sun radio radiation – reliable directly proportional correlation. It is shown, that at the geomagnetic field variation intensity increase there is reduction of values of bacteria bioluminescence specific intensity.Conclusions. The presence of reliable inverse dependence between K-indexes of geomagnetic field is shown and specific intensity of the P. rhosphoreum luminescence, the correlation coefficient in months with increased geomagnetic activity was R = -0,51. The use of the automated system of the luminescent bacteria luminescence intensity monitoring allows better forecasting in time the manifestations of indignations of the Earth’s magnetic field., Проблематика. Современной проблемой является определение особенностей характеристик разных микроорганизмов для биоиндикации активности состояния геофизических параметров среды.Цель. Определение корреляционных зависимостей между значениями интенсивности свечения бактерий Photobacterium phosphoreum и факторами, определяющими геомагнитную активность.Методика реализации. Определяли оптимальные параметры суспензии для исследований интенсивности биолюминесценции в качестве биоиндикатора состояния геомагнитного поля. На протяжении 2 месяцев проводили мониторинг удельной интенсивности свечения бактерий и сравнивали ее с ежедневными значениями активности геомагнитного поля в условиях г. Киева во время проведения исследований биолюминесценции. Определения вариаций геомагнитного поля проводились по данным Центра прогноза космической погоды Национального управления океанических и атмосферных исследований США. Описание солнечной активности проводили для “чисел Вольфа” и потока солнечного радиоизлучения на длине волны 10,7 см.Результаты. Были рассчитаны коэффициенты корреляции изменений ежедневных значений интенсивности биолюминесценции бактерий и сравнены со значениями К-индекса и Ар-индекса, “чисел Вольфа” и потока солнечного радиоизлучения. Определена обратно пропорциональная достоверная средняя корреляционная связь R = -0,41 между значениями удельной бактериальной люминесценции и К-индексами геомагнитного поля, а со значениями потока солнечного радиоизлучения установлена достоверная прямо пропорциональная связь. Показано, что при увеличении интенсивности вариаций геомагнитного поля происходит уменьшение значений удельной интенсивности биолюминесценции бактерий.Выводы. Показано наличие достоверной обратной зависимости между К-индексами геомагнитного поля и удельной интенсивностью люминесценции P. рhosphoreum, коэффициент корреляции в месяцы с повышенной геомагнитной активностью равнялся R = -0,51. Использование автоматизированной системы мониторинга интенсивности свечения люминесцентных бактерий позволяет лучше прогнозировать во времени проявления возмущений магнитного поля Земли.

The aim of the study was ecological risk assessment (ERA) of the agricultural soils located in the vicinity of the highly industrialized area and exposed to different emission sources of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). In this study, we demonstrated the combination of generic and site-specific ERA approach for screening assessment and delineation of the area of a high ecological risk. Generic approach was based on a hazard quotient and indicated that 62% of the research area needs further assessment. For site-specific evaluation, the Triad approach was utilized. Information from three lines of evidence (LoE): chemical, ecotoxicological and ecological, was integrated into one environmental risk (EnvRI) index. The chemical risk was derived from toxic pressure coefficients based on the total PAHs concentration. The ecotoxicological LoE included an acute toxicity testing: the luminescent bacteria Aliivibrio fischeri activity in both liquid- and solid-phase samples and the ability of crustacean Thamnocephalus platyurus to food uptake. The ecological LoE comprised microbial parameters related to soil respiration and enzymatic activity. Integrated EnvRI index ranged from 0.44 to 0.94 and was mainly influenced by high values of chemical LoE risk, while the ecotoxicological and ecological LoE indicated no or low risk. Due to the relatively high uncertainty associated with the contradictory information given by LoEs, there is the need to confirm potential risk in a tier 2 analysis.