Disentangling the microbial genomic traits associated with aromatic hydrocarbon degradation in a jet fuel-contaminated aquifer

Spills of petroleum or its derivatives in the environment lead to an enrichment of microorganisms able to degrade such compounds. The interactions taking place in such microbial communities are complex and poorly understood, since they depend on multiple factors, including diversity and metabolic potential of the microorganisms and a broad range of fluctuating environmental conditions. In our previous study, a complete characterization, based on high-throughput sequencing, was performed in a jet-fuel plume using soil samples and in in-situ microcosms amended with hydrocarbons and exposed for 120 days. Herein, we propose a metabolic model to describe the monoaromatic hydrocarbon degradation process that takes place in such jet-fuel-contaminated sites, by combining genome-centered analysis, functional predictions, and flux balance analysis (FBA). In total, twenty high/medium quality MAGs were recovered; three of them assigned to anaerobic bacteria (Thermincolales, Geobacter and Pelotomaculaceace) and one affiliated to the aerobic bacterium Acinetobacter radioresistens, potentially the main players of hydrocarbon degradation in jet-fuel plumes. Taxonomic assignment of the genes indicated that a putative new species of Geobacteria has the potential for anaerobic degradation pathway, while the Pelotomaculaceae and Thermincolales members probably act via syntrophy oxidizing acetate and hydrogen (fermentation products of oil degradation) via sulfate and/or nitrate reduction.

Graphical abstract