Proteome analyses of anoxic microbial communities

Dragana Bozinovski Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Department of Proteomics, Permoserstr. 15, 04318 Leipzig, Germany, Email: dragana.bozinovski@yahoo.com

A big volatile group of hydrocarbons, BTEX compounds (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and the three isomers of xylene) represent water soluble compounds of gasoline which can spread into the environment by leaking gas tanks and reservoirs. In this way these contaminants can easily get into the soil and may reach aquifers, eventually polluting drinking water supplies. Our research study focuses on an investigation of the degradation mechanisms of environmentally hazardous BTEX compounds by combining the proteomics research study and the molecular biology techniques. The research interest was to investigate a meta-xylene (m-xylene) degrading, by sulfate reducing of enrichment culture gained from the ground water of a hydrocarbon contaminated field site in the former coal hydrogenation and benzene production plant near town Zeitz in Saxony-Anhalt in Germany. Xylene-isomers are common toxic and carcinogenic substances and they all represent a major threat to humans and the environment. The aim of our study was to obtain insights into the anoxic degradation of such compounds and to identify key players, that is, microbial species involvement and enzymes important for the degradation mechanism. Stable isotope probing of proteins (Protein SIP) approach was used to unravel the structure and the function of a meta-xylene degrading microbial community by using 13C labeled xylene. The principle of this technique lies in the use of stable isotopes that serve as tracers which can be detected in the biomass and metabolic end products. To facilitate the identification of interesting peptides and enzymes, the metagenome of the community was sequenced by the shotgun method, allowing a deeper look into the members of this complex microbial consortium. Our study opens new avenues of research into anoxic degradation of environmentally hazardous BTEX compounds, polluting ground water in hydrocarbon-contaminated fields.