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Propionate metabolism and diversity of relevant functional genes by in silico analysis and detection in subsurface petroleum reservoirs

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Abstract

Propionate is a common metabolic intermediate occurring in environmental samples including petroleum reservoirs. Available microbial genomes were obtained from the NCBI database and analyzed in silico by hmmscan to check three metabolic pathways of propionate production in petroleum reservoir systems. The succinate pathway was the dominant one while the other two (lactate and 1,2-propanediol pathways) contributed less to the formation of propionate according to the Hidden Markov Model calculation. The mmdA gene encoding methylmalonyl-CoA decarboxylase was used as a biomarker gene to detect the diversity of microbes involved in the propionate formation in Jiangsu oil reservoirs. The mmdA gene clone library showed that microbes affiliated within the genus of Archaeoglobus, Thermococcus, Anaerobaculum, as well as more than ten other genera were the potential microorganisms involved in the production of propionate. Meanwhile, as the biomarker genes involved in the other two propionate-producing pathways, the functional genes of lcdA and pduP were tested with PCR amplification, but no positive results were observed in Jiangsu oil reservoirs.

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Acknowledgements

The National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41530318) and Shanghai Fundamental Research Program (No. 15JC1401400), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities of China (No. 222201717017).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering and Institute of Applied Chemistry, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China

    Tao Yang, Serge Maurice Mbadinga, Lei Zhou, Shi-Zhong Yang, Jing-Feng Liu & Bo-Zhong Mu

  2. School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, People’s Republic of China

    Ji-Dong Gu

  3. Shanghai Collaborative Innovation Center for Biomanufacturing Technology, Shanghai, 200237, People’s Republic of China

    Serge Maurice Mbadinga & Bo-Zhong Mu

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  1. Tao Yang
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  2. Serge Maurice Mbadinga
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Correspondence to Bo-Zhong Mu.

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Yang, T., Mbadinga, S.M., Zhou, L. et al. Propionate metabolism and diversity of relevant functional genes by in silico analysis and detection in subsurface petroleum reservoirs. World J Microbiol Biotechnol 33, 182 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11274-017-2350-2

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