Identification of a highly expressed gene cluster likely coding for benzene activation enzymes in a methanogenic enrichment culture
Benzene is a widespread, persistent, and toxic pollutant that can accumulate in anoxic environments such as groundwater and sediments. Benzene can be metabolized in the absence of oxygen; however, despite decades of research, the biochemical mechanisms for benzene activation under anaerobic conditions remain unproven. This study provides strong genetic and proteomic evidence for a new suite of enzymes that initiate anaerobic benzene activation. These findings lay a foundation for future biochemical studies and expand our understanding of how microbes carry out difficult chemical reactions in the absence of oxygen.
Authors
- Nancy Bawa
- Kan Wu
- Johnny Xiao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6114-4276)
- Po‐Hsiang Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9900-0972)
- Ruchir Puri (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-8803-7079)
- Courtney R. A. Toth (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3430-0792)
- Cheryl E. Devine
- Elizabeth A. Edwards (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8071-338X)
- Camilla Nesbø (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5904-0750)
- Robert Flick (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5463-9107)
- Olivia Molenda (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9487-0861)
- Shen Guo
- Yifeng Wei (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9124-0381)
- Fei Luo
- Xu Chen
Institutions
- Agency for Science, Technology and Research (SG)
- Applied Science Private University (JO)
- University of Toronto (CA)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Applied and Environmental Microbiology
- Published
- 2026-03-27
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1128/aem.02083-25
- Primary Topic
- Microbial bioremediation and biosurfactants
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00