Nitrite-driven anaerobic ethane oxidation

Cheng-Cheng Dang; Yin-Zhu Jin; Xin Tan; Wen-Bo Nie; Yang Lu; Bing-Feng Liu; De-Feng Xing; Nan-Qi Ren; Guo-Jun Xie

Environmental Science and Ecotechnology (Sep 2024)

Nitrite-driven anaerobic ethane oxidation

Cheng-Cheng Dang,
Yin-Zhu Jin,
Xin Tan,
Wen-Bo Nie,
Yang Lu,
Bing-Feng Liu,
De-Feng Xing,
Nan-Qi Ren,
Guo-Jun Xie

Affiliations

Cheng-Cheng Dang: State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150090, China
Yin-Zhu Jin: State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150090, China
Xin Tan: State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150090, China
Wen-Bo Nie: Key Laboratory of the Three Gorges Region's Eco-Environment, Ministry of Education, College of Environment and Ecology, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400044, China
Yang Lu: Water Innovation and Smart Environment Laboratory, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, 4001, Australia
Bing-Feng Liu: State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150090, China
De-Feng Xing: State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150090, China
Nan-Qi Ren: State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150090, China
Guo-Jun Xie: State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, School of Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150090, China; Corresponding author.

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 21
p. 100438

Abstract

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Ethane, the second most abundant gaseous hydrocarbon in vast anoxic environments, is an overlooked greenhouse gas. Microbial anaerobic oxidation of ethane can be driven by available electron acceptors such as sulfate and nitrate. However, despite nitrite being a more thermodynamically feasible electron acceptor than sulfate or nitrate, little is known about nitrite-driven anaerobic ethane oxidation. In this study, a microbial culture capable of nitrite-driven anaerobic ethane oxidation was enriched through the long-term operation of a nitrite-and-ethane-fed bioreactor. During continuous operation, the nitrite removal rate and the theoretical ethane oxidation rate remained stable at approximately 25.0 mg NO2–N L−1 d−1 and 11.48 mg C2H6 L−1 d−1, respectively. Batch tests demonstrated that ethane is essential for nitrite removal in this microbial culture. Metabolic function analysis revealed that a species affiliated with a novel genus within the family Rhodocyclaceae, designated as 'Candidatus Alkanivoras nitrosoreducens', may perform the nitrite-driven anaerobic ethane oxidation. In the proposed metabolic model, despite the absence of known genes for ethane conversion to ethyl-succinate and succinate-CoA ligase, 'Ca. A. nitrosoreducens' encodes a prospective fumarate addition pathway for anaerobic ethane oxidation and a complete denitrification pathway for nitrite reduction to nitrogen. These findings advance our understanding of nitrite-driven anaerobic ethane oxidation, highlighting the previously overlooked impact of anaerobic ethane oxidation in natural ecosystems.

Published in Environmental Science and Ecotechnology

ISSN: 2666-4984 (Online)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: Netherlands
LCC subjects: Geography. Anthropology. Recreation: Environmental sciences; Technology: Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering
Website: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/environmental-science-and-ecotechnology

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