Novel bacteria capable of degrading phenanthrene in activated sludge revealed by stable-isotope probing coupled with high-throughput sequencing

The indigenous microorganisms responsible for degrading phenanthrene (PHE) in activated biosludge were identified using DNA-based stable isotope probing. Besides the well-known PHE degraders Burkholderia, Ralstonia, Sinobacteraceae and Arthrobacter, we for the first time linked the taxa Paraburkholderia and Kaistobacter with in situ PHE biodegradation. Analysis of PAH-RHD_α gene detected in the heavy DNA fraction of ¹³C-PHE treatment suggested the mechanisms of horizontal gene transfer or inter-species hybridisation in PAH-RHD gene spread within the microbial community. Additionally, three cultivable PHE degraders, Microbacterium sp. PHE-1, Rhodanobacter sp. PHE-2 and Rhodococcus sp. PHE-3, were isolated from the same activated biosludge. Among them, Rhodanobacter sp. PHE-2 is the first identified strain in its genus with PHE-degrading ability. However, the involvement of these strains in PHE degradation in situ was questionable, due to their limited enrichment in the heavy DNA fraction of ¹³C-PHE treatment and lack of PAH-RHD_α gene found in these isolates. Collectively, our findings provide a deeper understanding of the diversity and functions of indigenous microbes in PHE degradation.