Ethylbenzene (anaerobic)
Ethylbenzene is one of the most water soluble aromatic hydrocarbons. Under aerobic conditions ethylbenzene degradation involves oxygenase reactions. Anaerobic ethylbenzene mineralization under denitrifying conditions was demonstrated for pure bacterial cultures ([http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7710331|Rabus and Widdel 1995], [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8824622|Ball et al., 1996], and [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15687214|Kuehner et al., 2005]). Anaerobic degradation of ethylbenzene is initiated by a dehydrogenation of ethylbenzene to 1-phenyl ethanol, and subsequent conversion to benzoate (or benzoyl-CoA). Benzoate (or benzoyl-CoA) is a central intermediate in anaerobic degradation of a variety of aromatic hydrocarbons. The pathway for anaerobic ethylbenzene oxidation to benzoate is based on [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15687214|Kuehner et al., 2005]. The source of metabolic energy for acetophenone carboxylation is hydrolysis of ATP ([http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20047908|Jobst et al., 2010]).