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. 2023 Feb;13(2):40.
doi: 10.1007/s13205-023-03460-y. Epub 2023 Jan 10.

Metagenome analyses of microbial population in geotextile fabrics used in permeable reactor barriers for toluene biodegradation

Huseyin Tombuloglu  1 , Cevat Yaman  2 , Imane Boudellioua  3 , Emre Cevik  4 , Ismail Anil  2 , Omer Aga  2 , Ayse B Yaman  2 , Aleem Qureshi  2 , Seyda Tugba Gunday  4
Affiliations

Metagenome analyses of microbial population in geotextile fabrics used in permeable reactor barriers for toluene biodegradation

Huseyin Tombuloglu et al. 3 Biotech. 2023 Feb.

Abstract

Toluene is one of the hydrocarbons that contaminate soil and groundwater, and has a high cost to remediate, which makes it an environmental pollutant of concern. This study aimed to find bacterial distribution from nonwoven geotextile (GT) fabric specimens in a pilot-scale permeable reactive barrier (PRB). Upon 167 days of incubation with the addition of toluene, the microbial community on the GT surfaces (n = 12) was investigated by the 16S rRNA metagenome sequencing approach. According to taxonomic classification, the Proteobacteria phylum dominated the metagenomes of all the geotextile samples (80-90%). Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) Pathway database search of the toluene degradation mechanism revealed the susceptible toluene-degrading species. For the toluene-to-benzoate degradation, the Cupriavidus genus, particularly C. gilardii, C. metallidurans, and C. taiwanensis, are likely to be functional. In addition to these species, the Novosphingobium genus was abundantly localized in the GTs, in particular Novosphingobium sp. ABRDHK2. The results suggested the biodegradation potential of these species in toluene remediation. Overall, this work sheds light on the variety of microorganisms found in the geotextile fabrics used in PRBs and the species involved in the biodegradation of toluene from several sources, including soil, sediment, and groundwater.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13205-023-03460-y.

Keywords: Geotextile; Metagenome; Microorganism; Permeable reactive barrier; Toluene.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interestOn behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Schematic representation of the PRB setup. The PRB column is filled with sand and gravel, and the geotextile layers are placed at 5 cm intervals. A pump provides nutrients, bacteria, toluene, and air into the column
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
SEM images show microbial community formation on geotextile a–c GT3 and d–f GT6
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
The top 10 species at the highest species reading counts of a GT1, b GT6, and c GT12
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Diversity (%) of a Phyla, b Class, and c Genus in GT1, GT6, and GT12 specimens
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
a Community structure of all geotextile metagenomes. b Rarefunction plot of the samples
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
Dendrograms for beta diversity analysis using a Jaccard index, and b Yue & Clayton similarity measure, respectively
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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