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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, April 2008, p. 2051-2058, Vol. 74, No. 7
0099-2240/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.02378-07
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Syntrophorhabdus aromaticivorans gen. nov., sp. nov., the First Cultured Anaerobe Capable of Degrading Phenol to Acetate in Obligate Syntrophic Associations with a Hydrogenotrophic Methanogen{triangledown}

Yan-Ling Qiu,1,5 Satoshi Hanada,1 Akiyoshi Ohashi,3 Hideki Harada,4 Yoichi Kamagata,1,2 and Yuji Sekiguchi1*

Institute for Biological Resources and Functions, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8566, Japan,1 Research Institute of Genome-Based Bio-Factory, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Sapporo, Hokkaido 062-8517, Japan,2 Department of Social and Environmental Engineering, Hiroshima University, Higashihiroshima, Hiroshima 739-8511, Japan,3 Department of Civil Engineering, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8579, Japan,4 Group of Industrial-Scale Biogas Process, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, Shandong 266071, China5

Received 22 October 2007/ Accepted 5 February 2008

Phenol degradation under methanogenic conditions has long been studied, but the anaerobes responsible for the degradation reaction are still largely unknown. An anaerobe, designated strain UIT, was isolated in a pure syntrophic culture. This isolate is the first tangible, obligately anaerobic, syntrophic substrate-degrading organism capable of oxidizing phenol in association with an H2-scavenging methanogen partner. Besides phenol, it could metabolize p-cresol, 4-hydroxybenzoate, isophthalate, and benzoate. During the degradation of phenol, a small amount of 4-hydroxybenzoate (a maximum of 4 µM) and benzoate (a maximum of 11 µM) were formed as transient intermediates. When 4-hydroxybenzoate was used as the substrate, phenol (maximum, 20 µM) and benzoate (maximum, 92 µM) were detected as intermediates, which were then further degraded to acetate and methane by the coculture. No substrates were found to support the fermentative growth of strain UIT in pure culture, although 88 different substrates were tested for growth. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis indicated that strain UIT belongs to an uncultured clone cluster (group TA) at the family (or order) level in the class Deltaproteobacteria. Syntrophorhabdus aromaticivorans gen. nov., sp. nov., is proposed for strain UIT, and the novel family Syntrophorhabdaceae fam. nov. is described. Peripheral 16S rRNA gene sequences in the databases indicated that the proposed new family Syntrophorhabdaceae is largely represented by abundant bacteria within anaerobic ecosystems mainly decomposing aromatic compounds.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Bio-Measurement Research Group, Institute for Biological Resources and Functions, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Central 6, 1-1-1 Higashi, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8566, Japan. Phone: 81-29-861-7866. Fax: 81-29-861-6400. E-mail: y.sekiguchi{at}aist.go.jp

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 15 February 2008.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, April 2008, p. 2051-2058, Vol. 74, No. 7
0099-2240/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.02378-07
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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