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© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.

Abstract

Tributyltin (TBT) is an organotin chemical mainly used as biocide in marine antifouling paints. Despite the restrictions and prohibitions on its use, TBT is still an environmental problem due to its extensive application and subsequent release into the environment, being regarded as one of the most toxic chemicals released into the marine ecosystems. Microorganisms inhabiting impacted sites are crucial for their restoration since they have developed mechanisms to tolerate and break down pollutants. Nonetheless, transformation products resulting from the degradation process may still be toxic or, sometimes, even more toxic than the parent compound. The determination of the parent and degradation products by analytical methods, although necessary, may not be ecologically relevant since no information is provided regarding their ecotoxicity. In this study, marine bacteria collected from seven Portuguese fishing ports were isolated and grown in the presence of TBT. Bacteria that exhibited higher growth were used to bioremediate TBT-contaminated waters. The potential of these bacteria as bioremediation agents was evaluated through ecotoxicological assays using the sea snail Gibbula umbilicalis as model organism. Data suggested that some TBT-tolerant bacteria, such as Pseudomonas putida, can reduce the toxicity of TBT contaminated environments. This work contributes to the knowledge of TBT-degrading bacteria.

Details

Title
Insights into the Restoration of Tributyltin Contaminated Environments Using Marine Bacteria from Portuguese Fishing Ports
Author
Monteiro, Hugo R 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Moutinho, Ariana B 1 ; Campos, Maria J 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Esteves, Ana C 2   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Lemos, Marco F L 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo 

 MARE–Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, ESTM, Polytechnic of Leiria, 2520-641 Peniche, Portugal; [email protected] (A.B.M.); [email protected] (M.J.C.) 
 CESAM–Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies, Department of Biology, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal; [email protected] 
First page
6411
Publication year
2021
Publication date
2021
Publisher
MDPI AG
e-ISSN
20763417
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2554412037
Copyright
© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.