New insights into the genetic and metabolic diversity of thiocyanate-degrading microbial consortia

Thiocyanate is a common contaminant of the gold mining and coal coking industries for which biological degradation generally represents the most viable approach to remediation. Recent studies of thiocyanate-degrading bioreactor systems have revealed new information on the structure and metabolic activity of thiocyanate-degrading microbial consortia. Previous knowledge was limited primarily to pure-culture or co-culture studies in which the effects of linked carbon, sulfur and nitrogen cycling could not be fully understood. High throughput sequencing, DNA fingerprinting and targeted gene amplification have now elucidated the genetic and metabolic diversity of these complex microbial consortia. Specifically, this has highlighted the roles of key consortium members involved in sulfur oxidation and nitrification. New insights into the biogeochemical cycling of sulfur and nitrogen in bioreactor systems allow tailoring of the microbial metabolism towards meeting effluent composition requirements. Here we review these rapidly advancing studies and synthesize a conceptual model to inform new biotechnologies for thiocyanate remediation.