Analysis of a phenol-adapted microbial community: degradation capacity, taxonomy and metabolic description

In this study, the ability of the consortium MR-01 to degrade phenol was determined. The effects of this chemical on the taxonomy and the metabolic behaviour were analysed through metagenomics.

Consortium MR-01 was acclimated in a sublethal concentration of phenol. After this process, the capacity to degrade this molecule was analysed. Results showed that degradation increased with the increment of the initial phenol concentration. Metagenomic analysis indicates that the consortium metabolized phenol under aerobic conditions using phenol 2-monooxygenase and the meta-cleavage pathway. Sequence of the enzymes involved in the phenol degradation was ascribed to the Actinomycetales and Chloroflexales orders, with relative abundances <1%. The most abundant genera were part of the Sphingomonadales order; however, the role of these species in the consortium is not clear.

Consortium MR-01 degrades efficiently high concentrations of phenol. The participation of extremophiles in the degradation process and the emergence of beneficial metabolic dependencies between the community members are some of the strategies used by the consortium to survive and develop under harsh environmental conditions.

This is one of the few studies describing the taxonomy and metabolic profile of a phenol degrading consortium.