Potential for Enhanced Degradation and Removal of Various Bisphenols by Interaction between Common Reed (Phragmites australis) and Microorganisms

Abstract

The extensive global use of bisphenols (bisphenol A (BPA) and its analogs) is of serious concern to human health and aquatic ecosystems. Aquatic plants and rhizosphere microorganisms can largely affect the environmental fate of bisphenols. In this study, the association between common reed, which is distributed widely in the aquatic environment, and microorganisms existing in the surrounding area of its roots was studied to illustrate its capabilities and possible mechanisms for the removal of five different bisphenols (BPA, bisphenol F, bisphenol P, bisphenol S, and 4,4ʹ-thiodiphenol). Different experimental systems were prepared in the presence and absence of sterile common reeds and aquatic microorganisms. The effects of common reed and microorganisms on the removal of bisphenols differed across compounds. However, the removal of all the bisphenols tested was clearly accelerated in the co-presence of common reed and microorganisms, which indicated the importance of aquatic plant-microorganism association in enhancing bisphenol removal. The results of this study further revealed the major contribution of the distinct mechanism of removal of each bisphenol by the association between common reed and microorganisms.