Enrichment and domestication of a microbial consortium for degrading aniline

In this study, a microbial consortium was enriched and acclimated to degrade aniline by the aerobic bioreactor. The system achieved a high degradation efficiency of aniline (over 99%) within a short period. Meanwhile, the removal rate of NH4+-N was up to 33.3%. The dominant populations of Comamonas and Zoogloea were critical for maintaining the removal performance. Ortho-cleavage and meta-cleavage pathways were responsible for degrading aniline. Our work presented that the microbial consortium could effectively treat aniline, and provided a potential alternative for eliminating aniline.