Bioremediation of Hexachlorocyclohexane-Contaminated Soil by the New Rhodococcus wratislaviensis Strain Ch628

Currently, there are large areas of soils contaminated with hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) isomers which are included in the group of persistent organic pollutants. For the bioremediation of such soils, a new HCH-degrading Rhodococcus wratislaviensis strain Ch628 was isolated from long-term organochlorine contaminated soils. The strain Ch628 was able to degrade 32.3% γ-hexachlorocyclohexane (γ-HCH/lindane), 25.2% hexachlorobenzene, and 100% chlorobenzene in resting cell conditions. The strain Ch628 was bioaugmented in chronically HCH-contaminated soil. The results showed that the bioaugmentation of contaminated soil with the strain Ch628 led to HCH degradation. In the bioaugmented system, the efficiency of HCH removal at the initial concentration of about 238.7 ± 4.9 mg kg−1 soil was 44.8%, while the system with indigenous microflora (without R. wratislaviensis strain Ch628) and the system with abiotic control removed 33.3 and 16.4% of this compound during the same period, respectively. Strain Ch628 could effectively degrade α-, β-, and γ-isomers of HCH (77.1, 100, and 100%, respectively) and heptachlorocyclohexane (69.9%) in the model soil systems. Moreover, the bioaugmentation with the strain Ch628 led to degradation of tri-, tetra-, and penta-chlorobenzenes, which are of HCH degradation metabolites. For the first time, it was found that the bioaugmentation with the bacterial strain Rhodococcus wratislaviensis Сh628 led to a significant reduction of the toxicity of the HCH-contaminated soil for the test organisms, such as Chlorella vulgaris Beijer and Daphnia magna Straus.