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| Autores principales: | , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Formato: | Artículo científico |
| Lenguaje: | en |
| Publicado: |
Frontiers in microbiology
2026
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| Acceso en línea: | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41853717/ |
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- Multi-guild microbial cooperation sustains long-term anaerobic toluene degradation through sulfur cycling. Matturro, Bruna Tucci, Matteo Firrincieli, Andrea Niccolini, Luca Peña-Álvarez, Verónica Resitano, Marco Trinchillo, Martina Peláez, Ana Isabel Rossetti, Simona Petruccioli, Maurizio Viggi, Carolina Cruz Aulenta, Federico Anaerobic degradation of aromatic hydrocarbons such as toluene plays a critical role in the natural and engineered attenuation of contaminated environments. Here, we developed and characterized a microbial consortium enriched under strictly anoxic conditions, capable of sustained toluene degradation through sulfate reduction. By integrating biodegradation kinetics, long-read 16S rRNA profiling, and genome-resolved metagenomics, we elucidated the structure and function of a multi-guild community. The consortium was co-dominated by , a sulfate-reducing bacterium (SRB), and -affiliated sulfur oxidizers (~34% each), with additional members including , and . Such co-dominance appears uncommon, as sulfate-reducing enrichments are often characterized by low diversity and the predominance of a single lineage, such as or in marine systems. Genome-resolved analyses recovered seven metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) with distinct but complementary metabolic roles. encoded the fumarate-addition pathway () for anaerobic toluene activation and dissimilatory sulfate reduction (). In contrast, and several encoded sulfide:quinone oxidoreductase (), coupling HS detoxification to energy conservation, while a MAG carried a putative sulfhydrogenase () potentially catalyzing elemental sulfur (S°) reduction. Additional MAGs encoded assimilatory sulfate reduction (), suggesting integration of sulfur into biosynthetic pathways. Together, these features are consistent with the presence of a putative distributed sulfur redox loop, in which biogenic HS may be recycled via oxidation and reduction reactions mediated by co-occurring taxa. This sulfur loop is hypothesized to contribute to buffering sulfide toxicity and stabilize redox dynamics, thereby potentially supporting long-term toluene degradation under sulfidic conditions. Our findings highlight anaerobic degradation as a community-driven process enabled by sulfur-cycling interactions. By revealing the role of cryptic sulfur cycling in stabilizing hydrocarbon degradation, this work offers a new framework for designing bioremediation strategies in contaminated anoxic environments.