Mineralization versus fermentation: evidence for two distinct anaerobic bacterial degradation pathways for dichloromethane

Chen, Gao; Fisch, Alexander R.; Gibson, Caleb M.; Erin Mack, E.; Seger, Edward S.; Campagna, Shawn R.; Löffler, Frank E.

doi:10.1038/s41396-019-0579-5

Title: Mineralization versus fermentation: evidence for two distinct anaerobic bacterial degradation pathways for dichloromethane

Journal Article · 05 January 2020 · The ISME Journal

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41396-019-0579-5 · OSTI ID:1606041

Chen, Gao ^[1]; Fisch, Alexander R. ^[2]; Gibson, Caleb M. ^[2]; Erin Mack, E. ^[3]; Seger, Edward S. ^[4]; Campagna, Shawn R. ^[2];

^[5]

Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States). Center for Environmental Biotechnology and Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States). Dept. of Chemistry
Corteva Agriscience, Wilmington, DE (United States)
The Chemours Company, Wilmington, DE (United States). Chemours Corporate Remediation Group
Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States). Center for Environmental Biotechnology, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Dept. of Chemistry, Dept. of Microbiology, and Dept. of Biosystems; Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Joint Institute for Computational Sciences (JIBS)

Dichloromethane (DCM) is an anthropogenic pollutant with ozone destruction potential that is also formed naturally. Under anoxic conditions, fermentation of DCM to acetate and formate has been reported in axenic culture Dehalobacterium formicoaceticum, and to acetate, H₂ and CO₂ in mixed culture RM, which harbors the DCM degrader ‘Candidatus Dichloromethanomonas elyunquensis’. RM cultures produced 28.1 ± 2.3 μmol of acetate from 155.6 ± 9.3 μmol DCM, far less than the one third (i.e., about 51.9 µmol) predicted based on the assumed fermentation model, and observed in cultures of Dehalobacterium formicoaceticum. Temporal metabolite analyses using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy revealed that no ¹³C-labeled acetate was formed in ¹³C-DCM-grown RM cultures, indicating acetate was not a direct product of DCM metabolism. The data were reconciled with DCM mineralization and H₂ consumption via CO₂ reduction to acetate and methane by homoacetogenic and methanogenic partner populations, respectively. In contrast, Dehalobacterium formicoaceticum produced ¹³C-labeled acetate and formate from ¹³C-DCM, consistent with a fermentation pathway. Free energy change calculations predicted that organisms with the mineralization pathway are the dominant DCM consumers in environments with H₂ <100 ppmv. These findings have implications for carbon and electron flow in environments where DCM is introduced through natural production processes or anthropogenic activities.

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Research Organization:: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE

Grant/Contract Number:: AC05-00OR22725

OSTI ID:: 1606041

Journal Information:: The ISME Journal, Journal Name: The ISME Journal Journal Issue: 4 Vol. 14; ISSN 1751-7362

Publisher:: Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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