Scientists Discover Microbes' Ability to Crush PFAS Compounds

Environmental engineers from the University of California, Riverside discovered that certain microbes can destroy per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in contaminated water.

In the study led by Dr. Yuji Men, an associate professor at UC Riverside, the team found that bacteria belonging to the genus Acetobacterium can break carbon-fluorine chemical bonds. These strong bonds are difficult to shatter, allowing PFAS to persist in the environment and earn the "forever chemicals" name.

Their research showed that Acetobacterium is effective in defluorinating unsaturated PFAS compounds, meaning those with double carbon-to-carbon bonds. The team used E-perfluoro-4-methylpent-2-enoic acid (PFMeUPA), an unsaturated perfluorinated compound, to demonstrate the defluorinating ability of Acetobacterium.

Moreover, the researchers successfully determined the enzymes in Acetobacterium responsible for giving the microbes their ability to break carbon-fluorine bonds. However, the study did not explore the mechanism behind these enzymes. Nonetheless, this discovery has paved the way for further research on manipulating enzymes to effectively destroy PFAS compounds in contaminated water.

Read the full article here to know more about PFAS-eating microbes.

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