Consortium C6 is a six-member hexamine- and formaldehyde-removing bacterial formulation assembled from environmental isolates in AS broth containing hexamine. The consortium combines two Brevundimonas diminuta isolates, two Brucella pseudintermedia isolates, Ochrobactrum sp. SRCHD06, and Micrococcus luteus SRCHD02 in a 1:1:1:1:1:1 design. C6 outperformed smaller tested combinations in suspended culture, formed a strong biofilm, and retained hexamine, formaldehyde, and chemical-oxygen-demand removal after low-dose cobalt-60 gamma irradiation, especially in the polypropylene-Raschig-ring biofilm format.
Taxonomy
| Taxon | Ontology ID | Functional Roles | Abundance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brevundimonas diminuta SRCHD03 — ontology label: Brevundimonas diminuta | NCBITaxon:293 · TaxonMech · TraitMech | DOMINANT | |
|
|||
| Brevundimonas diminuta SRCHD04 — ontology label: Brevundimonas diminuta | NCBITaxon:293 · TaxonMech · TraitMech | DOMINANT | |
|
|||
| Brucella pseudintermedia SRCHD05 — ontology label: Brucella pseudintermedia | NCBITaxon:370111 · TaxonMech · TraitMech | DOMINANT | |
|
|||
| Brucella pseudintermedia SRCHD07 — ontology label: Brucella pseudintermedia | NCBITaxon:370111 · TaxonMech · TraitMech | DOMINANT | |
|
|||
| Ochrobactrum sp. SRCHD06 — ontology label: Ochrobactrum | NCBITaxon:528 · TaxonMech · TraitMech | DOMINANT | |
|
|||
| Micrococcus luteus SRCHD02 — ontology label: Micrococcus luteus | NCBITaxon:1270 · TaxonMech · TraitMech | DOMINANT | |
|
|||
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.
C6 hexamine and formaldehyde removal
The study reports C6 biofilm removal of 94.41% hexamine, 85.56% formaldehyde and 37.64% chemical oxygen demand within 24 h. These positive bulk-chemistry outcomes in nutrient-containing AS broth do not establish complete mineralization, member-resolved conversion or reciprocal benefit among all six strains. The separate suspended-C6 Table 2 reports ammonia production, not consortium ammonia removal. The six canonical strain labels describe the assembled consortium, not measured persistence of every strain.
Participating Taxa: Brevundimonas diminuta SRCHD03, Brevundimonas diminuta SRCHD04, Brucella pseudintermedia SRCHD05, Brucella pseudintermedia SRCHD07, Ochrobactrum sp. SRCHD06, Micrococcus luteus SRCHD02
Metabolites: hexamine (CHEBI:6824 · MediaIngredientMech · CMMMech), formaldehyde (CHEBI:16842 · MediaIngredientMech · CMMMech), ammonia (CHEBI:16134 · MediaIngredientMech · CMMMech)
Biological Processes:
- xenobiotic metabolic process (GO:0006805 · PathwayMech)
- biofilm formation (GO:0042710 · PathwayMech)
Evidence
-
PMID:41743136 - SUPPORT (IN_VITRO)"In the biofilm system reported in this study, the consortium C6 could remove 94.41% hexamine 85.56% formaldehyde within 24 h of incubation, associated with 37.64% COD removal efficiency."
-
PMID:41743136 - SUPPORT (IN_VITRO)"The consortium C6 was the most efficient in terms of bioremediation, achieving hexamine, formaldehyde, and COD removal in 24, 48, and 96 h, respectively."
Immobilized C6 post-irradiation recovery
Polypropylene-Raschig-ring C6 biofilms showed stronger post-irradiation removal performance than suspended cultures after 3.75 Gy and 5.25 Gy cobalt-60 exposure. At 24 h, no statistically detected difference in biofilm hexamine removal was reported versus the unirradiated control (p = 0.29-0.5); this is not a formal equivalence test. Biofilm formaldehyde/COD removal was reported to recover within 96 h during repeated fresh-medium renewal. Bulk functional recovery does not establish survival of every original strain, unchanged community composition or a selectively demonstrated EPS/quorum-sensing protection mechanism.
Participating Taxa: Brevundimonas diminuta SRCHD03, Brevundimonas diminuta SRCHD04, Brucella pseudintermedia SRCHD05, Brucella pseudintermedia SRCHD07, Ochrobactrum sp. SRCHD06, Micrococcus luteus SRCHD02
Metabolites: hexamine (CHEBI:6824 · MediaIngredientMech · CMMMech), formaldehyde (CHEBI:16842 · MediaIngredientMech · CMMMech)
Biological Processes:
- biofilm formation (GO:0042710 · PathwayMech)
Evidence
-
PMID:41743136 - SUPPORT (IN_VITRO)"In the case of the biofilm-based system, there was no change in performance in terms of hexamine removal following irradiation (p-value between 0.29 and 0.5) even at 24th h of incubation."
-
PMID:41743136 - SUPPORT (IN_VITRO)"The formaldehyde- and COD-removing abilities were much higher in the biofilm-based system, with revival within 96 h of incubation."
Knowledge gaps & discussions (1)
KNOWLEDGE_GAP OPEN The source quantified community-level C6 removal of hexamine, formaldehyde, and COD but did not resolve which isolate genes or exchange steps perform hexamine hydrolysis, formaldehyde assimilation or oxidation, ammonia handling, or post-irradiation biofilm recovery.
The article explicitly leaves Ochrobactrum/Brevundimonas functional interactions for a future molecular study, so this record should not assert a pairwise metabolic edge inside C6. Bulk removal and COD are not complete mineralization or strain-resolved flux. Table 2 ammonia production must not become a consortium removal claim. Repeated medium renewal and nonsignificant comparisons do not prove equivalence, every-strain survival or a specific protection mechanism. Resolve the irradiation-feed discrepancy between the main-text 50 mg/L description and Figure 4's 100 mg/L caption before assigning one common concentration; existing non-graph assay fields are preserved, not recertified. Original figure images, supplements, raw data and code were not audited.
Attaches to: ecological_interactions#C6 hexamine and formaldehyde removal, ecological_interactions#Immobilized C6 post-irradiation recovery
1 evidence item(s)
Ochrobactrum sp. and Brevundimonas diminuta have been shown to harbor genes with functional interactions, which could be further detailed in a future study to understand the underlying molecular mechanism of bioremediation in the current context.
Documents the authors' stated need for a future mechanistic study of the C6 molecular mechanism.
External Resources
| Name | Repository | Resource ID |
|---|---|---|
|
Primary publication - C6 hexamine formaldehyde bioremediation consortium
Frontiers in Microbiology article reporting Consortium C6 assembly, 16S-based isolate identification, AS-broth pollutant removal, biofilm immobilization, and low-dose 60Co gamma irradiation recovery. |
OTHER | doi:10.3389/fmicb.2026.1753858 |
|
||
Environmental Factors
| Factor | Value | Unit |
|---|---|---|
| C6 suspended-culture hexamine feed | 50 | mg/L |
|
||
| Low-dose cobalt-60 gamma irradiation | 3.75 Gy and 5.25 Gy | N/A |
|
||
Growth Media
Cross-Mech Suite Links
Explore related entities across the CultureBotAI X-Mech knowledge bases: