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    Integrated metabolomic, molecular, and morphological insights into the degradation of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) by priestia megaterium mapb-27
    (ACS, 2025-10) Paul, Atish Tulshiram; Jha, Prabhat Nath
    Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are persistent organic pollutants that cause profound deleterious effects on the environment and human health. Exposure to PCBs and biphenyl can induce changes in cellular metabolite levels. However, metabolic responses to utilize and adapt to PCBs are not well understood. Therefore, this study meticulously examined the PCB degradation potential, gene expression, and metabolic responses of Priestia megaterium MAPB-27 exposed to biphenyl. MAPB-27 showed growth and chemotaxis toward PCB degradation intermediates such as biphenyl, dihydroxy biphenyl, benzoate, and catechol. We employed GC-MS/MS to elucidate disparities in the main metabolic pathways in the biphenyl-exposed MAPB-27 through variations in metabolite composition and PCB biodegradation, while Field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) was used to study cell morphology. GC-MS/MS analysis highlighted the degradation of trichlorobiphenyl, tetrachlorobiphenyl, pentachlorobiphenyl, and hexachlorobiphenyl by P. megaterium MAPB-27, exhibiting 92.5, 62.9, 3.7, and 2.4%, respectively. GC-MS/MS analysis identified 4-dihydroxy-2-oxo-valerate, benzoic acid, and 2,3-dihydroxybenzoic acid as the major degradative metabolites in MAPB-27. MAPB-27 extract also contains metabolites with a wide range of direct industrial applications, such as poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (3-hydroxybutyrate), a biobased organic acid (3-hydroxypropionoic acid), and antibacterial and antifungal compounds (phenyllactic acid, 4-hydroxyphenyllactic acid, and β-sitosterol). Glyoxylate and dicarboxylate metabolism and fatty acid biosynthesis were observed to be the active metabolisms in MAPB-27 grown in biphenyl-supplemented Minimal Medium. Overall, the results of this study provided important insights into microbial adaptation to biphenyl and the biodegradation of PCB. Thus, the P. megaterium MAPB-27 strain can be used for the development of efficient PCB biodegradation strategies and for the exploration of industrial applications.
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    Metabolomic profiling of biphenyl-induced stress response of Brucella anthropi MAPB-9
    (Springer Nature, 2025-04) Jha, Prabhat Nath; Paul, Atish Tulshiram
    The exposure of bacteria to toxic compounds such as polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) and biphenyl induces an adaptive response at different levels of cell morphology, biochemistry, and physiology. PCB and biphenyl are highly toxic compounds commercially used in the industry. In our previous study, Brucella anthropi MAPB-9 efficiently degraded PCB-77 and biphenyl at a high concentration. In this study, we used metabolomic analyses to understand the metabolic processes occurring in MAPB-9 during exposure to biphenyl. A combination of analytical techniques such as GC-MS/MS and HR-MS study confirmed the complete biphenyl degradation pathway. The intermediate metabolic products identified were cis-2, 3-dihydro-2, 3-dihydroxy biphenyl, 2,3-dihydroxy biphenyl, and 4-dihydroxy-2-oxo-valerate. Further, benzoic acid and 2,3-dihydroxy benzoic acid metabolites identified in the extract revealed the interconnection of biphenyl and benzoic degradation pathways. In addition, the variations in the functioning of the major biochemical pathways in the cells were revealed through changes in the profile of metabolites belonging to glyoxylate, tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, and fatty acid pathways. The exposure to biphenyl inhibited metabolic activity leading to changes in the morphology and metabolism. Despite many adverse changes, the MAPB-9 was able to adapt and grow in the toxic environment undergoing upper and lower biphenyl degradation pathways.
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    Evaluation of biphenyl- and polychlorinated-biphenyl (PCB) degrading Rhodococcus sp. MAPN-1 on growth of Morus alba by pot study
    (Taylor & Francis, 2020-06) Paul, Atish Tulshiram; Jha, Prabhat Nath
    This study focused on isolation of bacteria with biphenyl/polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) degrading ability from the rhizosphere of Morus alba (mulberry plant). Repetitive enrichment of rhizospheric soil samples with biphenyl resulted in the isolation of Rhodococcus sp. MAPN-1, identified by 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. The bacterium showed growth on five different aromatic compounds (naphthalene, salicylic acid, benzoic acid, dibenzofuran and anthracene). Benzoic acid was detected as the major metabolite during biphenyl degradation using high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) with Rf 0.42 at 254 nm. Further GC-MS/MS study showed 95% and 15% degradation of biphenyl and dichlorobiphenyl, respectively. A pot study was conducted to evaluate the effect of presence of biphenyl on M. alba and the role of biphenyl degrader Rhodococcus sp. MAPN-1 in relation to phytoremediation. Morus alba twigs in biphenyl spiked soil (100 mg/kg and 300 mg/kg) inoculated with Rhodococcus sp. MAPN-1 showed growth, whereas, growth of plants (control) was adversely affected in biphenyl-spiked uninoculated soil. It is the first report of isolation of Rhodococcus sp. MAPN-1 from the rhizosphere of Morus alba, its capability to degrade biphenyl, thereby showing a positive effect on the plant growth grown in biphenyl spiked soil.