Bacterial communities of the Black Sea exhibit activity against persistent organic pollutants in the water column and sediments.

The ability of bacteria to degrade organic pollutants influences their fate in the environment, impact on the other biota and accumulation in the food web. The aim of this study was to evaluate abundance and expression activity of the catabolic genes targeting widespread pollutants, such as polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and hexachloro-cyclohexane (HCH) in the Black Sea water column and sediments. Concentrations of PAHs, PCBs and HCH were determined by gas chromatography (GC) coupled to mass spectrometry (MS) and electron capture (ECD) detectors.