Enhanced polychlorinated biphenyl removal in a switchgrass rhizosphere by bioaugmentation with Burkholderia xenovorans LB400

• Switchgrass improved PCB 52, 77 and 153 removal from soil by both plant and microbial activity.
• PCB 52 removal in planted and LB400-augmented reactors was greater than PCB 77 and 153 removal.
• Increased bphA abundance and expression was noted in LB400-augmented reactors.
• Switchgrass presence appeared to improve LB400 survival and facilitated increased PCB removal.

Phytoremediation makes use of plants and associated microorganisms to clean up soils and sediments contaminated with inorganic and organic pollutants. In this study, switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) was used to test for its efficiency in improving the removal of three specific polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners (PCB 52, 77 and 153) in soil microcosms. The congeners were chosen for their ubiquity, toxicity, and recalcitrance. After 24 weeks of incubation, loss of 39.9 ± 0.41% of total PCB molar mass was observed in switchgrass-treated soil, significantly higher than in unplanted soil (29.5 ± 3.4%) (p < 0.05). The improved PCB removal in switchgrass-treated soils could be explained by phytoextraction processes and enhanced microbial activity in the rhizosphere. Bioaugmentation with Burkholderia xenovorans LB400 was performed to further enhance aerobic PCB degradation. The presence of LB400 was associated with improved degradation of PCB 52, but not PCB 77 or PCB 153. Increased abundances of bphA (a functional gene that codes for a subunit of PCB-degrading biphenyl dioxygenase in bacteria) and its transcript were observed after bioaugmentation. The highest total PCB removal was observed in switchgrass-treated soil with LB400 bioaugmentation (47.3 ± 1.22%), and the presence of switchgrass facilitated LB400 survival in the soil. Overall, our results suggest that the combined use of phytoremediation and bioaugmentation could be an efficient and sustainable strategy to eliminate recalcitrant PCB congeners and remediate PCB contaminated soil.