Dynamic changes in functional gene copy numbers and microbial communities during degradation of pyrene in soils

This study investigates the dynamics of pyrene degradation rates, microbial communities, and functional gene copy numbers during the incubation of pyrene-spiked soils. Spiking pyrene to the soil was found to have negligible effects on the bacterial community present. Our results demonstrated that there was a significant difference in nidA gene copy numbers between sampling dates in QZ soil. Mycobacterium 16S rDNA clone libraries showed that more than 90% mycobacteria detected were closely related to fast-growing PAH-degrading Mycobacterium in pyrene-spiked soil, while other sequences related to slow-growing Mycobacterium were only detected in the control soil. It is suggested that nidA gene copy number and fast-growing PAH-degrading Mycobacterium could be used as indicators to predict pyrene contamination and its degradation activity in soils.