Biodegradation aspects of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs): A review

Remediation of soils contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).

Aromatic hydrocarbons contaminate many environments worldwide, and their removal often relies on microbial bioremediation. Whereas aerobic biodegradation has been well studied for decades, anaerobic hydrocarbon biodegradation is a nascent field undergoing rapid shifts in concept and scope. This review presents known metabolic pathways used by microbes to degrade aromatic hydrocarbons using various terminal electron acceptors; an outline of the few catabolic genes and enzymes currently characterized; and speculation about current and potential applications for anaerobic degradation of aromatic hydrocarbons.

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Anaerobic biodegradation of aromatic hydrocarbons: pathways and prospects.

DsrB gene-based DGGE for community and diversity surveys of sulfate-reducing bacteria

A series of molecular and geochemical studies were performed to study microbial, coal bed methane formation in the eastern Illinois Basin. Results suggest that organic matter is biodegraded to simple molecules, such as H2 and CO2, which fuel methanogenesis and the generation of large coal bed methane reserves. Small-subunit rRNA analysis of both the in situ microbial community and highly purified, methanogenic enrichments indicated that Methanocorpusculum is the dominant genus. Additionally, we characterized this methanogenic microorganism using scanning electron microscopy and distribution of intact polar cell membrane lipids. Phylogenetic studies of coal water samples helped us develop a model of methanogenic biodegradation of macromolecular coal and coal-derived oil by a complex microbial community. Based on enrichments, phylogenetic analyses, and calculated free energies at in situ subsurface conditions for relevant metabolisms (H2-utilizing methanogenesis, acetoclastic methanogenesis, and homoacetogenesis), H2-utilizing methanogenesis appears to be the dominant terminal process of biodegradation of coal organic matter at this location.

L C Shiung

Papers

Anaerobic biodegradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon in soil.

Biodegradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by inoculated microorganisms in soil.