New hydrocarbon degradation pathways in the microbial metagenome from Brazilian petroleum reservoirs

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 9; no. 2; p. e90087
• Main Authors: Sierra-García, Isabel Natalia, Correa Alvarez, Javier, de Vasconcellos, Suzan Pantaroto, Pereira de Souza, Anete, dos Santos Neto, Eugenio Vaz, de Oliveira, Valéria Maia
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 26.02.2014; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Aerobiosis; Aromatic compounds; Bacteria - classification; Bacteria - genetics; Bacteria - metabolism; Bacteriology; Biodegradation; Biology; Biotechnology; Brazil; Carbon; Chromatography; Cloning; Crude oil; Deoxyribonucleic acid; DNA; Fragments; Genes; Genetic diversity; Genetic engineering; Genomics; Homology; Hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria; Hydrocarbons; Hydrocarbons - metabolism; Laboratories; Metabolic pathways; Metagenome - genetics; Microbial activity; Microbiology; Microorganisms; Oil reservoirs; Pathways; PCB; Petroleum; Petroleum - microbiology; Petroleum - supply & distribution; Petroleum hydrocarbons; Phylogeny; Polychlorinated biphenyls; Proteins; Pseudomonas; Reservoirs; Synteny; Brazil; Rio de Janeiro Brazil
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0090087

Current knowledge of the microbial diversity and metabolic pathways involved in hydrocarbon degradation in petroleum reservoirs is still limited, mostly due to the difficulty in recovering the complex community from such an extreme environment. Metagenomics is a valuable tool to investigate the genetic and functional diversity of previously uncultured microorganisms in natural environments. Using a function-driven metagenomic approach, we investigated the metabolic abilities of microbial communities in oil reservoirs. Here, we describe novel functional metabolic pathways involved in the biodegradation of aromatic compounds in a metagenomic library obtained from an oil reservoir. Although many of the deduced proteins shared homology with known enzymes of different well-described aerobic and anaerobic catabolic pathways, the metagenomic fragments did not contain the complete clusters known to be involved in hydrocarbon degradation. Instead, the metagenomic fragments comprised genes belonging to different pathways, showing novel gene arrangements. These results reinforce the potential of the metagenomic approach for the identification and elucidation of new genes and pathways in poorly studied environments and contribute to a broader perspective on the hydrocarbon degradation processes in petroleum reservoirs.