Metagenomic sequencing data in the bioelectrochemical system with co-conversion of benzene and sulfur dioxide

Water treatment containing benzene and sulfur dioxide disposal are two important environmental issues. Simultaneous achievement of these two goals is extremely attractive. Here, a series of laboratory-scale bioelectrochemical reactors were constructed to investigate the co-conversion of benzene and sulfur dioxide. The results showed that benzene and sulfur dioxide exhibited synergistic conversion, and the auxiliary voltage enhanced the conversion process. Elemental sulfur recovery was achieved during the co-conversion. The maximum conversion rate of benzene was observed in the bioreactor with 1.6 V voltage, which is 1.28 times the value of the bioreactor without applied voltage. Pseudomonas sp. is the primary benzene-oxidizing microorganism, and the principal sulfur-reducing microorganisms were identified as Stenotrophomonas sp. and Aquamicrobium sp.. The genes of ubiX, ubiD, hbaA, and ppsABC, which have been reported to activate the benzene ring under anaerobic conditions, were detected. Aerobic benzene-oxidizing genes of dmpBCD and tmoCF were significantly enriched in the bioreactor with 1.6 V. The synergistic pathway is proposed that benzene is activated by Pseudomonas sp. through hydroxyl addition fermentation to produce simple organic compounds, which are further used by Aquamicrobium sp. and Stenotrophomonas sp. for sulfur reduction.