Anaerobic Benzene Biodegradation Linked to the Growth of Highly Specific Bacterial Clades

Reliance on bioremediation to remove benzene from anoxic environments has proven risky for decades but for unknown reasons. Research has revealed a strong link between anaerobic benzene biodegradation and the enrichment of highly specific microbes, including Thermincola in the family Peptococcaceae and the deltaproteobacterial Candidate Sva0485 clade. Using aquifer materials from Canadian Forces Base Borden, we compared five bioremediation approaches in batch microcosms. Under conditions simulating natural attenuation or sulfate biostimulation, benzene was not degraded after 1-2 years of incubation and no enrichment of known benzene-degrading microbes occurred. In contrast, nitrate-amended microcosms reported benzene biodegradation coincident with significant growth of Thermincola spp., along with a functional gene presumed to catalyze anaerobic benzene carboxylation (abcA). Inoculation with 2.5% of a methanogenic benzene-degrading consortium containing Sva0485 (Deltaproteobacteria ORM2) resulted in benzene biodegradation in the presence of sulfate or under methanogenic conditions. The presence of other hydrocarbon co-contaminants decreased the rates of benzene degradation by a factor of 2 to 4. Tracking the abundance of the abcA gene and 16S rRNA genes specific for benzene-degrading Thermincola and Sva0485 is recommended to monitor benzene bioremediation in anoxic groundwater systems to further uncover growth-rate-limiting conditions for these two intriguing phylotypes.