Nitrifying Microorganisms Linked to Biotransformation of Perfluoroalkyl Sulfonamido Precursors from Legacy Aqueous Film-Forming Foams. 2023

Bridger J Ruyle, and Lara Schultes, and Denise M Akob, and Cassandra R Harris, and Michelle M Lorah, and Simon Vojta, and Jitka Becanova, and Shelley McCann, and Heidi M Pickard, and Ann Pearson, and Rainer Lohmann, and Chad D Vecitis, and Elsie M Sunderland
Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts 02134, United States.

Drinking water supplies across the United States have been contaminated by firefighting and fire-training activities that use aqueous film-forming foams (AFFF) containing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Much of the AFFF is manufactured using electrochemical fluorination by 3M. Precursors with six perfluorinated carbons (C6) and non-fluorinated amine substituents make up approximately one-third of the PFAS in 3M AFFF. C6 precursors can be transformed through nitrification (microbial oxidation) of amine moieties into perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHxS), a compound of regulatory concern. Here, we report biotransformation of the most abundant C6 sulfonamido precursors in 3M AFFF with available commercial standards (FHxSA, PFHxSAm, and PFHxSAmS) in microcosms representative of the groundwater/surface water boundary. Results show rapid (<1 day) biosorption to living cells by precursors but slow biotransformation into PFHxS (1-100 pM day-1). The transformation pathway includes one or two nitrification steps and is supported by the detection of key intermediates using high-resolution mass spectrometry. Increasing nitrate concentrations and total abundance of nitrifying taxa occur in parallel with precursor biotransformation. Together, these data provide multiple lines of evidence supporting microbially limited biotransformation of C6 sulfonamido precursors involving ammonia-oxidizing archaea (Nitrososphaeria) and nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (Nitrospina). Further elucidation of interrelationships between precursor biotransformation and nitrogen cycling in ecosystems would help inform site remediation efforts.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D005466 Fluorocarbons Liquid perfluorinated carbon compounds which may or may not contain a hetero atom such as nitrogen, oxygen or sulfur, but do not contain another halogen or hydrogen atom. This concept includes fluorocarbon emulsions, and fluorocarbon blood substitutes. Perfluorinated and related polyfluorinated chemicals are referred to as PFAS and are defined as chemicals with at least two adjacent carbon atoms, where one carbon is fully fluorinated and the other is at least partially fluorinated. Fluorocarbon,Fluorocarbon Emulsion,Fluorocarbon Emulsions,Fluorotelomer Phosphate Esters,N-Alkyl Perfluoroalkyl Sulfonamido Carboxylates,PFAS Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances,PFC Perfluorinated Chemicals,PFECAs Perfluoropolyether Carboxylic Acids,Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances,Perfluoroalkane Sulfonamides,Perfluoroalkyl Carboxylates,Perfluoroalkyl Ether Carboxylates,Perfluoroalkyl Polyether Carboxylates,Perfluorocarbon,Perfluorocarbons,Perfluoropolyether Carboxylic Acids,Polyfluorocarbons,Fluorinated Telomer Alcohols,Fluoro-Telomer Alcohols,Polyfluorinated Telomer Alcohols,Telomer Fluorocarbons,Acids, Perfluoropolyether Carboxylic,Alcohols, Fluorinated Telomer,Alcohols, Fluoro-Telomer,Alcohols, Polyfluorinated Telomer,Carboxylates, Perfluoroalkyl,Carboxylates, Perfluoroalkyl Ether,Carboxylates, Perfluoroalkyl Polyether,Carboxylic Acids, Perfluoropolyether,Chemicals, PFC Perfluorinated,Emulsion, Fluorocarbon,Emulsions, Fluorocarbon,Esters, Fluorotelomer Phosphate,Ether Carboxylates, Perfluoroalkyl,Fluoro Telomer Alcohols,Fluorocarbons, Telomer,N Alkyl Perfluoroalkyl Sulfonamido Carboxylates,PFAS Per and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances,Per and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances,Perfluorinated Chemicals, PFC,Phosphate Esters, Fluorotelomer,Polyether Carboxylates, Perfluoroalkyl,Sulfonamides, Perfluoroalkane,Telomer Alcohols, Fluorinated,Telomer Alcohols, Polyfluorinated
D000476 Alkanesulfonates Organic esters or salts of sulfonic acid derivatives containing an aliphatic hydrocarbon radical. Alkyl Sulfonates,Sulfonates, Alkyl
D001711 Biotransformation The chemical alteration of an exogenous substance by or in a biological system. The alteration may inactivate the compound or it may result in the production of an active metabolite of an inactive parent compound. The alterations may be divided into METABOLIC DETOXICATION, PHASE I and METABOLIC DETOXICATION, PHASE II.
D014874 Water Pollutants, Chemical Chemical compounds which pollute the water of rivers, streams, lakes, the sea, reservoirs, or other bodies of water. Chemical Water Pollutants,Landfill Leachate,Leachate, Landfill,Pollutants, Chemical Water
D017753 Ecosystem A functional system which includes the organisms of a natural community together with their environment. (McGraw Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 4th ed) Ecosystems,Biome,Ecologic System,Ecologic Systems,Ecological System,Habitat,Niche, Ecological,System, Ecological,Systems, Ecological,Biomes,Ecological Niche,Ecological Systems,Habitats,System, Ecologic,Systems, Ecologic
D060587 Groundwater Liquid water present beneath the surface of the earth. Aquifers,Ground Water,Ground-Water,Subterranean Lakes,Underground Lakes,Underground Streams,Underground Water,Water Table,Aquifer,Ground Waters,Ground-Waters,Groundwaters,Lake, Subterranean,Lake, Underground,Lakes, Subterranean,Lakes, Underground,Stream, Underground,Streams, Underground,Subterranean Lake,Table, Water,Tables, Water,Underground Lake,Underground Stream,Underground Waters,Water Tables,Water, Underground,Waters, Underground

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