Dataset Information

Multiple syntrophic interactions in a terephthalate-degrading methanogenic consortium.

ABSTRACT: Terephthalate (TA) is one of the top 50 chemicals produced worldwide. Its production results in a TA-containing wastewater that is treated by anaerobic processes through a poorly understood methanogenic syntrophy. Using metagenomics, we characterized the methanogenic consortium inside a hyper-mesophilic (that is, between mesophilic and thermophilic), TA-degrading bioreactor. We identified genes belonging to dominant Pelotomaculum species presumably involved in TA degradation through decarboxylation, dearomatization, and modified ?-oxidation to H(2)/CO(2) and acetate. These intermediates are converted to CH(4)/CO(2) by three novel hyper-mesophilic methanogens. Additional secondary syntrophic interactions were predicted in Thermotogae, Syntrophus and candidate phyla OP5 and WWE1 populations. The OP5 encodes genes capable of anaerobic autotrophic butyrate production and Thermotogae, Syntrophus and WWE1 have the genetic potential to oxidize butyrate to CO(2)/H(2) and acetate. These observations suggest that the TA-degrading consortium consists of additional syntrophic interactions beyond the standard H(2)-producing syntroph-methanogen partnership that may serve to improve community stability.

SUBMITTER: Lykidis A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3105669 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Multiple syntrophic interactions in a terephthalate-degrading methanogenic consortium.

Lykidis Athanasios A Chen Chia-Lung CL Tringe Susannah G SG McHardy Alice C AC Copeland Alex A Kyrpides Nikos C NC Hugenholtz Philip P Macarie Hervé H Olmos Alejandro A Monroy Oscar O Liu Wen-Tso WT

The ISME journal 20100805 1

Terephthalate (TA) is one of the top 50 chemicals produced worldwide. Its production results in a TA-containing wastewater that is treated by anaerobic processes through a poorly understood methanogenic syntrophy. Using metagenomics, we characterized the methanogenic consortium inside a hyper-mesophilic (that is, between mesophilic and thermophilic), TA-degrading bioreactor. We identified genes belonging to dominant Pelotomaculum species presumably involved in TA degradation through decarboxylat ...[more]

PMID: 20686509

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Project description:The methanogenic biodegradation of crude oil involves the conversion of hydrocarbons to methanogenic substrates by syntrophic bacteria and subsequent methane production by methanogens. Assessing the metabolic roles played by various microbial species in syntrophic communities remains a challenge, but such information has important implications for bioremediation and microbial enhanced energy recovery technologies. Many factors such as changing environmental conditions or substrate variations can influence the composition and biodegradation capabilities of syntrophic microbial communities in hydrocarbon-impacted environments. In this study, a methanogenic crude oil-degrading enrichment culture was successively transferred onto the single long chain fatty acids palmitate or stearate followed by their parent alkanes, hexadecane or octadecane, respectively, in order to assess the impact of different substrates on microbial community composition and retention of hydrocarbon biodegradation genes. 16S rRNA gene sequencing showed that a reduction in substrate diversity resulted in a corresponding loss of microbial diversity, but that hydrocarbon biodegradation genes (such as assA/masD encoding alkylsuccinate synthase) could be retained within a community even in the absence of hydrocarbon substrates. Despite substrate-related diversity changes, all communities were dominated by hydrogenotrophic and acetotrophic methanogens along with bacteria including Clostridium sp., members of the Deltaproteobacteria, and a number of other phyla. Microbial co-occurrence network analysis revealed a dense network of interactions amongst syntrophic bacteria and methanogens that were maintained despite changes in the substrates for methanogenesis. Our results reveal the effect of substrate diversity loss on microbial community diversity, indicate that many syntrophic interactions are stable over time despite changes in substrate pressure, and show that syntrophic interactions amongst bacteria themselves are as important as interactions between bacteria and methanogens in complex methanogenic communities.

Dataset Information

Multiple syntrophic interactions in a terephthalate-degrading methanogenic consortium.

Publications

Multiple syntrophic interactions in a terephthalate-degrading methanogenic consortium.

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