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PAHs are ubiquitous in the environment and are carcinogenic compounds and tend to accumulate in food chains due to their low bioavailability and poor biodegradability. Cycloclasticus is an obligate marine PAH degrader and is widespread in marine environments, while the PAH degradation pathways remain unclear. In this report, the degradation pathways for naphthalene, phenanthrene, and pyrene were revealed, and an integrated PAH metabolic network covering pyrene, phenanthrene, and naphthalene was constructed in Cycloclasticus . This overlapping network provides streamlined processing of PAHs to intermediates and ultimately to complete mineralization. Furthermore, these results provide an additional context for the prevalence of Cycloclasticus in oil-polluted marine environments and pelagic settings. In conclusion, these analyses provide a useful framework for understanding the cellular processes involved in PAH metabolism in an ecologically important marine bacterium.
Wang et al. (Wed,) studied this question.