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Ecotoxicological Studies of Organic Pollutants in Soil and Aquatic Environments
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Ecotoxicological Studies of Organic Pollutants in Soil and Aquatic Environments

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Chemical and Molecular Sciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2020) | Viewed by 14468

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Manuel Alvarez-Orti

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Group of Quality, Safety and Hygiene of Agri-Food Products, Higher Technical School of Agricultural and Forestry Engineering, University of Castilla-La Mancha, Albacete, Spain
Interests: edible oils; new sources of vegetable healthy oils; functional foods
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Anthropic actuations such as the use of fertilizers, pesticides, and other chemicals to increase agricultural productions, industrial activities, or the spill of wastewater without treatments lead to an accumulation of organic pollutants in the environment. Persistent organic pollutants (POP), which are chemicals that pose a serious threat to human health and environment, are especially dangerous. They remain in the environment as they are resistant to degradation and are bioaccumulative, so they are incorporated into the tissues of living organisms and may increase in concentration in the higher levels of the trophic chain, leading to toxic effects on human health. In addition, they have the potential to be transported over long distances, so they may appear in regions where they have never been used or produced. In this sense, soil and aquatic environments are extremely vulnerable, especially endhorreic basins located in arid or semiarid areas, where water carries contaminants to the discharge zone, and they are accumulated due to water evaporation, leading to hypersaline and contaminated environments. Apart from the effects of these contaminants on animals or plants, the accumulation of organic pollutants originates changes in the microbiological communities of soil and aquatic environments. Some of these microbes, adapted to extreme conditions of living, are capable of carrying out processes related to bioremediation and nutrient recycling.

The Special Issue of Applied Sciences “Ecotoxicological Studies of Organic Pollutants in Soil and Aquatic Environments” aims to cover recent advances in the detection and effects of organic pollutants in biological communities, the characterization of microorganisms communities present in contaminated soils and aquatic environments, and the possible decontamination processes mediated by these microorganisms or other mechanisms.

Dr. Manuel Álvarez-Ortí
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • Bioremediation
  • Emerging contaminant
  • Extremophiles
  • Microbial degradation
  • Nutrient recycling
  • Persistent organic pollutants (POPs)
  • Pollution

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 1353 KiB  
Article
Microbial Community and Atrazine-Degrading Genetic Potential in Deep Zones of a Hypersaline Lake-Aquifer System
by Yolanda Espín, Giuliana Aranzulla, Manuel Álvarez-Ortí and Juan José Gómez-Alday
Appl. Sci. 2020, 10(20), 7111; https://doi.org/10.3390/app10207111 - 13 Oct 2020
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3320
Abstract
The chemical composition of groundwater and related surface water ecosystems can be modified by intensive agricultural activities. This is the case of the Natural Reserve of Pétrola saline lake (Albacete, SE Spain), which constitutes the discharge area of an unconfined aquifer. The extended [...] Read more.
The chemical composition of groundwater and related surface water ecosystems can be modified by intensive agricultural activities. This is the case of the Natural Reserve of Pétrola saline lake (Albacete, SE Spain), which constitutes the discharge area of an unconfined aquifer. The extended use of fertilizers and pesticides poses a threat to ecosystem sustainability. One of the most applied herbicides worldwide has been atrazine. Despite being prohibited in Spain since 2007 by European regulations, atrazine can still be detected due to its high persistence in the environment. Atrazine degradation pathways are mediated by biological processes performed by microorganisms with adapted metabolic mechanisms that make in situ bioremediation possible. To evaluate the presence of such microorganisms in the unconfined aquifer, groundwater was collected from a flowing 37.9 m deep piezometer. DNA was extracted, and the bacterial 16S rRNA gene was amplified and cloned. Later, 93 clones were sequenced, providing the first molecular assessment of bacterial community structure in the deep zones of the aquifer. Some of these bacteria have been previously described to be involved in atrazine degradation. In addition, 14 bacteria were isolated from the groundwater samples and identified by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. DNA from these bacteria was subjected to PCR assays with primers designed for the genes involved in the atrazine degradation pathway. Positive results in the amplification were found in at least three of these bacteria (Arthrobacter sp., Nocardioides sp. and Pseudomonas sp.). The atrazine-degrading genetic potential was shown to be dependent on the trzN and atzA,B,C gene combination. These results suggest for the first time the adaptation of the bacterial population present in deep aquifer zones to atrazine exposure, even after more than 15 years of its ban in Spain. In addition, this study provides the baseline data about the bacterial communities found in deep aquifer zones from the hypersaline lake-aquifer system. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecotoxicological Studies of Organic Pollutants in Soil and Aquatic Environments)
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14 pages, 2435 KiB  
Article
Distribution of Endocrine Disruptor Chemicals and Bacteria in Saline Pétrola Lake (Albacete, SE Spain) Protected Area is Strongly Linked to Land Use
by Alfonso Menchén, Yolanda Espín, Nicolás Valiente, Beatriz Toledo, Manuel Álvarez-Ortí and Juan José Gómez-Alday
Appl. Sci. 2020, 10(11), 4017; https://doi.org/10.3390/app10114017 - 10 Jun 2020
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3035
Abstract
Saline lakes are subject to numerous environmental impacts related to human activities, changing the chemical and biological natural conditions of the ecosystem. Sustainable development depends on the conservation of such delicate saline ecosystems, which may hold distinctive biodiversity. Pollution is one of the [...] Read more.
Saline lakes are subject to numerous environmental impacts related to human activities, changing the chemical and biological natural conditions of the ecosystem. Sustainable development depends on the conservation of such delicate saline ecosystems, which may hold distinctive biodiversity. Pollution is one of the major threats to surface water bodies, for example by increasing nutrient contents and organic pollutants, including endocrine disrupting chemicals. Microbially mediated redox processes exert a fundamental control on nutrient turnover and contaminant removal. This study examines the influence of land use on the distribution of endocrine disrupting chemicals as well as on the microbial community composition in lacustrine sediments from Pétrola saline Lake (SE Spain). The lake is impacted by anthropogenic activities (agriculture, farming, mining and urban wastewater spills). Applying chemical and molecular tools (sequencing of 16S rRNA gene) showed a clear influence of land use on the chemistry and bacterial abundance of the lake sediments. The sampling points closer to wastewater outflows and mining ponds (2635, 2643 and 2650) showed fewer numbers and types of endocrine disrupting chemicals as well as a smaller number of families in the microbial community. These findings improve our understanding of how land use affects both water chemistry and the abundance of organisms responsible for biogeochemical cycles. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecotoxicological Studies of Organic Pollutants in Soil and Aquatic Environments)
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16 pages, 1140 KiB  
Article
Organochlorines Accumulation in Caged Mussels Mytilus galloprovincialis—Possible Influence of Biological Parameters
by Vesna Milun, Dijana Grgas, Sanja Radman, Tea Štefanac, Jasmina Ibrahimpašić and Tibela Landeka Dragičević
Appl. Sci. 2020, 10(11), 3830; https://doi.org/10.3390/app10113830 - 31 May 2020
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2753
Abstract
The accumulation of organochlorines (OCs) in mussel tissue depends on the physiological and biochemical status of the organism and its interaction with the environment. Mytilus galloprovincialis, 2- and 1-year-old mussels, sampled from Mali Ston Bay, a reference area, and transplanted to Kaštela [...] Read more.
The accumulation of organochlorines (OCs) in mussel tissue depends on the physiological and biochemical status of the organism and its interaction with the environment. Mytilus galloprovincialis, 2- and 1-year-old mussels, sampled from Mali Ston Bay, a reference area, and transplanted to Kaštela Bay in cages, were used for the assessment of OC levels and influence of biological parameters on accumulation. Results of bimonthly exposures during one year highlighted that OC accumulation decreases with increasing mussel age. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and p,p′-dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (p,p′-DDTs) increased, while organochlorine pesticide (OCP; i.e., HCB, lindane, heptachlor, and aldrin) variations were very low. Statistical analysis generally did not confirm the significant effect of lipid content on the accumulation of OCs in mussel tissue. OC levels in mussels were below the maximum permitted levels for human consumption (European Commission). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecotoxicological Studies of Organic Pollutants in Soil and Aquatic Environments)
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17 pages, 3637 KiB  
Article
Biodegradation and Absorption Technology for Hydrocarbon-Polluted Water Treatment
by Alfonso Rodríguez-Calvo, Gloria Andrea Silva-Castro, Darío Rafael Olicón-Hernández, Jesús González-López and Concepción Calvo
Appl. Sci. 2020, 10(3), 841; https://doi.org/10.3390/app10030841 - 24 Jan 2020
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 4741
Abstract
Wastewaters polluted with hydrocarbons are an environmental problem that has a significant impact on the natural ecosystem and on human health. Thus, the aim of this research was to develop a bioreactor sorbent technology for treating these polluted waters. A lab-scale plant composed [...] Read more.
Wastewaters polluted with hydrocarbons are an environmental problem that has a significant impact on the natural ecosystem and on human health. Thus, the aim of this research was to develop a bioreactor sorbent technology for treating these polluted waters. A lab-scale plant composed of three 1-L bioreactors with different sorbent materials inside (meltblown polypropylene and granulated cork) was built. Wastewater to be treated was recirculated through each bioreactor for 7 days. Results showed that hydrocarbon retention rates in the three bioreactors ranged between 92.6% and 94.5% of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs) and that after one simple recirculation cycle, no hydrocarbon fractions were detected by gas chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS) in the effluent wastewater. In addition, after the wastewater treatment, the sorbent materials were extracted from the bioreactors and deposited in vessels to study the biodegradation of the retained hydrocarbons by the wastewater indigenous microbiota adhered to sorbents during the wastewater treatment. A TPH removal of 41.2% was detected after one month of Pad Sentec™ carrier treatment. Further, the shifts detected in the percentages of some hydrocarbon fractions suggested that biodegradation is at least partially involved in the hydrocarbon removal process. These results proved the efficiency of this technology for the treatment of these hydrocarbon-polluted-waters. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecotoxicological Studies of Organic Pollutants in Soil and Aquatic Environments)
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