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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, June 2006, p. 4274-4282, Vol. 72, No. 6
0099-2240/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.02896-05
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Comparison of Mechanisms of Alkane Metabolism under Sulfate-Reducing Conditions among Two Bacterial Isolates and a Bacterial Consortium

Amy V. Callaghan,1 Lisa M. Gieg,2 Kevin G. Kropp,3 Joseph M. Suflita,2 and Lily Y. Young1*

Biotechnology Center for Agriculture and the Environment, Cook College, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, New Jersey 08901-8510,1 Department of Botany and Microbiology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma 73019,2 Guardian Chemicals Inc., Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, Canada T8L 2T13

Received 8 December 2005/ Accepted 8 March 2006

Recent studies have demonstrated that fumarate addition and carboxylation are two possible mechanisms of anaerobic alkane degradation. In the present study, we surveyed metabolites formed during growth on hexadecane by the sulfate-reducing isolates AK-01 and Hxd3 and by a mixed sulfate-reducing consortium. The cultures were incubated with either protonated or fully deuterated hexadecane; the sulfate-reducing consortium was also incubated with [1,2-13C2]hexadecane. All cultures were extracted, silylated, and analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. We detected a suite of metabolites that support a fumarate addition mechanism for hexadecane degradation by AK-01, including methylpentadecylsuccinic acid, 4-methyloctadecanoic acid, 4-methyloctadec-2,3-enoic acid, 2-methylhexadecanoic acid, and tetradecanoic acid. By using d34-hexadecane, mass spectral evidence strongly supporting a carbon skeleton rearrangement of the first intermediate, methylpentadecylsuccinic acid, was demonstrated for AK-01. Evidence indicating hexadecane carboxylation was not found in AK-01 extracts but was observed in Hxd3 extracts. In the mixed sulfate-reducing culture, however, metabolites consistent with both fumarate addition and carboxylation mechanisms of hexadecane degradation were detected, which demonstrates that multiple alkane degradation pathways can occur simultaneously within distinct anaerobic communities. Collectively, these findings underscore that fumarate addition and carboxylation are important alkane degradation mechanisms that may be widespread among phylogenetically and/or physiologically distinct microorganisms.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Biotechnology Center for Agriculture and the Environment, Foran Hall, Cook College, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 59 Dudley Road, New Brunswick, NJ 08901-8520. Phone: (732) 932-8165, ext. 312. Fax: (732) 932-0312. E-mail: lyoung{at}aesop.rutgers.edu.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, June 2006, p. 4274-4282, Vol. 72, No. 6
0099-2240/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.02896-05
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Callaghan, A. V., Tierney, M., Phelps, C. D., Young, L. Y. (2009). Anaerobic Biodegradation of n-Hexadecane by a Nitrate-Reducing Consortium. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 75: 1339-1344 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Grossi, V., Cravo-Laureau, C., Meou, A., Raphel, D., Garzino, F., Hirschler-Rea, A. (2007). Anaerobic 1-Alkene Metabolism by the Alkane- and Alkene-Degrading Sulfate Reducer Desulfatibacillum aliphaticivorans Strain CV2803T. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 73: 7882-7890 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


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