Researchers at the Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, have made significant progress in understanding how carbon monoxide (CO) supports microbial anaerobic reductive dechlorination. This process is crucial for detoxifying chlorinated organic pollutants in the environment.

Carbon monoxide, a component of the atmosphere, played a crucial role in the evolution of early life, serving as a vital electron donor. Despite its low concentration in modern environments and its perceived toxicity to microbes, recent studies reveal that a significant portion of soil microbes, up to 56%, possess the ability to metabolize CO. Moreover, CO can be used as an energy source by bacteria to break down toxic chlorinated compounds, a common pollutant found in groundwater. These chemicals can pose serious health problems if they contaminate drinking water supplies. 

The team led by Dr. YANG Yi discovered that microbial communities residing in river sediments are capable of utilizing CO as the sole carbon source and electron donor to reduce trichloroethylene (TCE) to ethylene. The key player in this process is Dehalococcoides, a bacterium that can grow by reducing TCE.

This discovery could lead to new and more effective methods for cleaning up contaminated sites. The research team also identified a new strain of Dehalococcoides that can utilize CO, named as Dehalococcoides sp. CO (0Q946896). The findings were published in the journal Microbiome.