Study of a Bacterial Coculture for Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene and Xylene Degradation

Approximately one-quarter of the Canadian population relies on groundwater for daily activities. However, the expanding economy and increased human activities have driven a higher demand for petroleum hydrocarbons, resulting in elevated levels of hazardous pollutants like Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene, and Xylene (BTEX) in the environment, which are well-documented for their carcinogenic properties and alarming risk to public health and wildlife protection in the country. This study explores the potential of a co-culture of S. fonticola and M. esteraromaticum for the effective degradation of BTEX compounds. The obtained results showed a total BTEX degradation of 47%, 45% and 42% by the coculture, M. esteraromaticum and S. fonticola, respectively. Furthermore, the bacterial co-culture showed higher benzene (99%) and toluene (71%), ethylbenzene (85%) and xylene (62%) degradation compared to the individual strains over 42 hours. This study reveals coculture potential for both BTEX multi-compound degradation as well as benzene and toluene individual degradation. Future studies are recommended to further enhance BTEX degradation using coculture by testing multiple inducers, and immobilization materials (e.g. biochar) in varied natural settings (e.g. temperature, pH, salinity, BTEX concentration) while exploring mechanistic pathways and cometabolism occurrence among BTEX compounds. Finally, this co-culture shows a prospect for other studies which helps to advance and offer more sustainable and effective solutions for on-site BTEX remediation.