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Characterization of a phenanthrene-degrading methanogenic community

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Abstract

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) often occur in oil-contaminated soil, coke wastewater and domestic sludge; however, associated PAH degraders in these environments are not clear. Here we evaluated phenanthrene degradation potential in the mixed samples of above environments, and obtained a methanogenic community with different microbial profile compared to those from sediments. Phenanthrene was efficiently degraded (1.26 mg/L/d) and nonstoichiometric amount of methane was produced simultaneously. 16S rRNA gene sequencing demonstrated that bacterial populations were mainly associated with Comamonadaceae Nocardiaceae and Thermodesulfobiaceae, and that methanogenic archaea groups were dominated by Methanobacterium and Methanothermobacter. Substances such as hexane, hexadecane, benzene and glucose showed the most positive effects on phenanthrene degradation. Substrate utilization tests indicated that this culture could not utilize other PAHs. These analyses could offer us some suggestions on the putative phenanthrene-degrading microbes in such environments, and might help us develop strategies for the removal of PAHs from contaminated soil and sludge.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 41573065 and 41773082), the Key Project of Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 21337001) and the National Water Pollution Control and Treatment Science and Technology Major Project (Grant No. 2017ZX07202002).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Joint Laboratory on Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China

    Quanhui Ye, Chengyue Liang, Chongyang Wang, Yun Wang & Hui Wang

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  1. Quanhui Ye
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  2. Chengyue Liang
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  3. Chongyang Wang
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  4. Yun Wang
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  5. Hui Wang
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Correspondence to Hui Wang.

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Ye, Q., Liang, C., Wang, C. et al. Characterization of a phenanthrene-degrading methanogenic community. Front. Environ. Sci. Eng. 12, 4 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-018-1083-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-018-1083-2

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