Molecular mechanisms of fluorinated organic chemical metabolism in bacteria

自20世纪50年代引入以来，含氟有机化合物在我们的环境中变得普遍。由于它们的化学和热稳定性，氟化化学品被用于制造聚合物，这些聚合物被用于一系列消费品中，如防水和防油脂剂，消防泡沫等。一旦被认为是安全的，越来越多的证据表明，这些氟化化学品中的一些具有毒性作用，并且难以生物降解。这类化合物可以在空气、土壤、水、地下水中找到，并在世界各地的人类和动物体内积累，即使在北极地区也是如此。最近，在Lac-Mégantic铁路灾难中使用了大量的消防泡沫，这说明了了解这些化合物的环境命运的重要性。这项工作的目标是研究有能力将这些分子转化为无毒产品的微生物。为此，我们将研究土壤细菌的分子生物学，该细菌已显示出对氟磺酸盐的活性，其长期目标是通过更好地了解此类化学品生物降解中涉及的生态过程来开发生物修复工具。目前，该领域的大部分工作集中在检测和测量人类，动物和环境中的氟化化学品的数量。此外，目前正在开展大量工作，监测污水处理设施中含氟化学品的去向。这项工作是新颖的，因为我们正在解开背后的机制代谢途径负责生物降解氟化化合物的纯细菌培养。使用基于基因组测序的方法，我们正在开发工具来检测环境中能够生物降解含氟有机化合物的微生物。这项研究对于开发修复受污染环境的工具以及为负责监管含氟化学品生产和使用的政策制定者提供证据十分重要。

Since their introduction in the 1950s, fluorinated organic compounds have become pervasive in our environment. Thanks to their chemical and thermal stability, fluorinated chemicals are used to manufacture polymers found in an array of consumer products such as water and grease repellents, fire-fighting foams, and many others. Once believed to be safe, evidence is accumulating that some of these fluorinated chemicals exhibit toxic effects, and are difficult to biodegrade. This class of compound can be found in air, soil, water, groundwater, and bioaccumulate in humans and animals all around the world, even in the high Arctic. Recently, large quantities of fire-fighting foams were used during the Lac-Mégantic rail disaster, illustrating the importance of understanding the environmental fate of these compounds. The goal of this work is to study the microorganisms that have the capacity to convert these molecules into non-toxic products. To do this, we will examine the molecular biology of a soil bacterium that has shown activity against fluorinated sulfonates with the long-term goal of developing bioremediation tools through a better understanding of the ecological processes involved in the biodegradation of this class of chemicals. Currently, the majority of work in this field is focussed on detecting and measuring the quantities of fluorinated chemicals in humans, animals, and the environment. Further, much work is being done with monitoring the fate of fluorinated chemicals in sewage treatment facilities. This work is novel as we are unravelling the mechanisms behind metabolic pathways responsible for biodegradation of fluorinated compounds by a pure bacterial culture. Using genome sequencing-based approaches, we are developing tools to detect microorganisms in the environment that are able to biodegrade fluorinated organic compounds. This research is important for the development of tools to remediate contaminated environments, and to provide evidence to policymakers responsible for regulating the production and use of fluorinated chemicals.