Synchronous response in methanogenesis and anaerobic degradation of pentachlorophenol in flooded soil

Methanogenesis is commonly mass-produced under anaerobic conditions and serves as a major terminal electron accepting process driving the degradation of organic biomass. In this study, a cofactor of methanogenesis (coenzyme M, CoM) and a classic methanogensis inhibitor (2-bromoethanesulfonate, BES) were added at different concentrations to investigate how methanogenesis would affect PCP degradation in flooded soil. Strikingly, the processes of methanogenesis and PCP degradation were simultaneously promoted with CoM , or inhibited with BES, significantly ( p  <  0.05). High-throughput sequencing for soil bacterial and archaeal community structures revealed that members of Desulfitobacterium , Dethiobacter , Sedimentibacter, Bacillus and Methanosarcina might act as the core functional groups jointly perform PCP degradation in flooded soil, possibly through assisting microbial mediated dechlorination in direct organohalide-respiration, and/or indirect co-metabolization in complex anaerobic soil conditions. This study implied an underlying synergistic coupling between methanogenesis and dechlorination, and provided insights into a novel consideration with respect to coordinating methanogenesis while promoting anaerobic degradation of PCP for complex polluted soil environment, which is necessary for the improved all-win remediation.