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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, February 1999, p. 529-533, Vol. 65, No. 2
0099-2240/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Anaerobic Benzene Biodegradation Linked to Nitrate Reduction

Siobhan M. Burland1 and Elizabeth A. Edwards2,*

Department of Civil Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario,1 and Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3E5,2 Canada

Received 15 July 1998/Accepted 21 October 1998

Benzene oxidation to carbon dioxide linked to nitrate reduction was observed in enrichment cultures developed from soil and groundwater microcosms. Benzene biodegradation occurred concurrently with nitrate reduction at a constant ratio of 10 mol of nitrate consumed per mol of benzene degraded. Benzene biodegradation linked to nitrate reduction was associated with cell growth; however, the yield, 8.8 g (dry weight) of cells per mol of benzene, was less than 15% of the predicted yield for benzene biodegradation linked to nitrate reduction. In experiments performed with [14C]benzene, approximately 92 to 95% of the label was recovered in 14CO2, while the remaining 5 to 8% was incorporated into the nonvolatile fraction (presumably biomass), which is consistent with the low measured yield. In benzene-degrading cultures, nitrite accumulated stoichiometrically as nitrate was reduced and then was slowly reduced to nitrogen gas. When nitrate was depleted and only nitrite remained, the rate of benzene degradation decreased to almost zero. Based on electron balances, benzene biodegradation appears to be coupled more tightly to nitrate reduction to nitrite than to further reduction of nitrite to nitrogen gas.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto, 200 College Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3E5, Canada. Phone: (416) 946-3506. Fax: (416) 978-8605. E-mail: edwards{at}chem-eng.utoronto.ca.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, February 1999, p. 529-533, Vol. 65, No. 2
0099-2240/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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