Abstract:Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a kind of teratogenic, carcinogenic, and mutagenic organic pollutants. In recent years, the pollution of PAHs in mangrove ecosystems has attracted widespread attention, for which microbial degradation has been recognized as an effective, economical, and multifunctional treatment approach. Researchers have identified a large number of bacteria that utilize PAHs as carbon and energy sources, whereas these bacteria generally suffer from low degradation efficiency, narrow degradation spectra, and poor adaptability to high-salinity environments. In addition, the degradation mechanisms of PAH-degrading bacteria from mangroves remain to be fully explored. [Objective] The present study screened efficient and broad-spectrum PAH-degrading strains in mangrove sediments and explored their degradation efficiency and mechanism, with a view to providing a solid scientific foundation for the innovative research and development of microbial remediation technologies in mangrove ecosystems in the future.[Methods] A new PAH-degrading strain P-9T was isolated from mangrove sediments collected from Futian, Shenzhen and identified based on the phenotypic and biochemical characteristics and phylogenetic relationship. The genomic DNA of this strain was extracted and sequenced, and the potential of P-9T in degrading PAHs was investigated by genomic analysis. The degradation ability of P-9T was measured at different temperatures (25–40 ℃), pH (5.0–9.0), and substrate conditions. Finally, according to the intermediate metabolites detected by high performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-MS/MS), we preliminarily revealed the mechanism of P-9T in degrading PAHs. [Results] Strain P-9T was proposed to represent a potential novel species belonging to Aquabacter of Xanthobacteraceae and named as Aquabacter sediminis P-9T, which was also the first PAH-degrader identified within this genus. A complete benzoate degradation pathway and key genes encoding dehydrogenase, salicylate hydroxylase, and cytochrome P450 involved in PAHs degradation were found identified in the genome of P-9T. Strain P-9T could use naphthalene, phenanthrene, or pyrene as the sole carbon and energy source and grow at 25–40 ℃ and pH 5.0–8.0. In a mineral salt medium (MSM) with phenanthrene (50 mg/L) as the substrate, the degradation efficiency reached 100% after five days. Several metabolites, such as 1-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid, 1,2-naphthalenediol, catechol, and 1-hydroxy-2-naphthaldehyde were detected, which indicated that strain P-9T might degrade PAHs via the salicylate pathway. [Conclusion] A. sediminis P-9T, the first strain of Aquabacter identified to be capable of degrading PAHs could efficiently degrade naphthalene, phenanthrene, and pyrene via the salicylate pathway, with the optimum degradation performance at 37 ℃ and pH 7.0.
