A microbial community enriched from TCE/PCE-contaminated groundwater and amended with acetylene (C2H2) as the sole electron donor and organic carbon source. The stable enrichment performs reductive dechlorination of trichloroethene (TCE) and tetrachloroethene (PCE), coupling acetylenotrophy to organohalide respiration. Metagenomic analysis of the stable community identified a novel anaerobic acetylenotroph in the phylum Actinobacteria, expanding the known diversity of this metabolism beyond previously documented Pelobacter SFB93 + Dehalococcoides mccartyi laboratory cocultures.
Taxonomy
| Taxon | Ontology ID | Functional Roles | Abundance |
|---|---|---|---|
| novel anaerobic acetylenotroph (Actinobacteria) — ontology label: Actinomycetota | NCBITaxon:201174 · TaxonMech · TraitMech |
PRIMARY_DEGRADER
CROSS_FEEDER
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N/A |
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| reductive dechlorinating community members — ontology label: Bacteria | NCBITaxon:2 · TaxonMech · TraitMech |
PRIMARY_DEGRADER
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N/A |
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Ecological Interactions
The graph shows only explicitly linked interaction participants. Community members without an asserted participant link are omitted; membership alone does not imply an interaction.
Acetylenotrophy Provides Reductant for Dechlorination
CROSS_FEEDINGPARTIAL - acetylene fermentation supplied hydrogen supporting community dechlorination. Hydrogen measurements and mass balances support interspecies transfer at enrichment level; attribution of acetylene metabolism to the Actinobacteria/Coriobacteriales population is metagenomic, not confirmed by isolate biochemistry.
Source Taxon: novel anaerobic acetylenotroph (Actinobacteria)
Target Taxon: reductive dechlorinating community members
Metabolites: acetylene (CHEBI:27518 · MediaIngredientMech · CMMMech), trichloroethene (CHEBI:16602 · MediaIngredientMech · CMMMech), tetrachloroethene (CHEBI:17300 · MediaIngredientMech · CMMMech)
Biological Processes:
- anaerobic respiration (GO:0009061 · PathwayMech)
Acetylene fermentation supplies hydrogen that supports TCE/PCE reduction in the enrichment. The community-level hydrogen balance supports this link without proving an exact isolated donor-recipient pair.
Evidence
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PMID:33531396 - PARTIAL (IN_VITRO)"the coupling of acetylenotrophy and reductive dechlorination can occur in the environment with native bacteria"
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PMID:33531396 - SUPPORT (IN_VITRO)"interspecies hydrogen transfer occurred in the enrichment"
Reductive Dechlorination of TCE and PCE
The groundwater enrichment reductively dechlorinated TCE and PCE primarily to vinyl chloride using acetylene-derived reductant. This is not a claim of complete conversion to ethene, nor of product-removal-enabled thermodynamic cooperation.
Metabolites: trichloroethene (CHEBI:16602 · MediaIngredientMech · CMMMech), tetrachloroethene (CHEBI:17300 · MediaIngredientMech · CMMMech)
Biological Processes:
- anaerobic respiration (GO:0009061 · PathwayMech)
Evidence
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PMID:33531396 - SUPPORT (IN_VITRO)"TCE and perchloroethene (PCE) reductive dechlorination by a microbial community enriched from contaminated groundwater"
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PMID:33531396 - SUPPORT (IN_VITRO)"dechlorinate PCE and TCE to VC using acetylene"
Acetylene as Sole Electron Donor and Carbon Source
C2H2 alone supports the stable enrichment as the sole electron donor and organic carbon source.
Participating Taxa: novel anaerobic acetylenotroph (Actinobacteria)
Metabolites: acetylene (CHEBI:27518 · MediaIngredientMech · CMMMech)
Acetylene-fed growth of the stable enrichment supplies the acetylenotrophic metabolism that couples to TCE and PCE reductive dechlorination in the groundwater-derived community.
Evidence
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PMID:33531396 - SUPPORT (IN_VITRO)"amended with C2H2 as the sole electron donor and organic carbon source"
Knowledge gaps & discussions (1)
KNOWLEDGE_GAP OPEN Which organism and enzyme supply hydrogen from acetylene in this enrichment?
PMID:33531396 supports community hydrogen transfer and dechlorination. The putative Coriobacteriales acetylene hydratases were assigned from metagenomic homology; the authors call for organism isolation and biochemical validation. Neither the sole-donor amendment nor low hydrogen concentrations establish niche partitioning or product-removal thermodynamics.
Attaches to: ecological_interactions#Acetylenotrophy Provides Reductant for Dechlorination, ecological_interactions#Acetylene as Sole Electron Donor and Carbon Source
External Resources
| Name | Repository | Resource ID |
|---|---|---|
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Primary publication for the acetylene TCE-dechlorination community
PubMed record for the Gushgari-Doyle et al. 2021 mBio paper on acetylene-fueled TCE reductive dechlorination in a groundwater enrichment culture. |
OTHER | PMID:33531396 |
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DOI landing page
DOI link to the mBio paper. |
OTHER | doi:10.1128/mBio.02724-20 |
Environmental Factors
| Factor | Value | Unit |
|---|---|---|
| Acetylene source | C2H2 supplied as sole electron donor and carbon source | N/A |
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| Chlorinated electron acceptors | TCE and PCE | N/A |
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Cross-Mech Suite Links
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