The inhibition of anaerobic digestion (AD) by phenolic compounds is an obstacle to the efficient treatment of organic wastes. Besides, hydrochar produced from hydrothermal liquefaction of biomass has been previously reported to enhance AD. The present study aimed to provide deep insights into the microbial shifts at the species level to phenol (0–1.5 g/L) inhibition in AD of glucose with and without hydrochar by metagenomic analysis. Phenol higher than 1 g/L had severe inhibition on both the amount and rate of methane production in control experiments, while hydrochar significantly enhanced methane production, especially at phenol 1 g/L and 1.5 g/L. From metagenomic analysis, 78 High-quality metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) were obtained. Principal components analysis showed that the microbial communities were shifted when phenol concentration was increased to 0.25 g/L in control experiments and 1 g/L in hydrochar experiments. In control experiments, no MAGs involved in acetogenesis were found at phenol 1.5 g/L and Methanothrix sp.FDU243 was also inhibited. However, hydrochar resulted in the maintenance of several MAGs involved in acetogenesis and Methanothrix sp.FDU243 even at phenol 1.5 g/L, ensuring a persistent methane production. Furthermore, 6 phenol-degrading MAGs were identified, shifting dependent on the concentrations of phenol and the presence of hydrochar.

酚类化合物对厌氧消化（AD）的抑制是有效处理有机废物的障碍。此外，先前已报道由生物质的水热液化产生的水炭可增强 AD。本研究旨在通过宏基因组分析深入了解微生物在物种水平上对苯酚（0-1.5 g/L）抑制葡萄糖在有和没有水炭的情况下的转变。在对照实验中，高于 1 g/L 的苯酚对甲烷的产生量和速率都有严重的抑制作用，而水炭显着提高了甲烷的产生，尤其是在苯酚 1 g/L 和 1.5 g/L 时。通过宏基因组分析，获得了 78 个高质量的宏基因组组装基因组 (MAG)。主成分分析表明，对照实验中苯酚浓度增加到0.25 g/L，水炭实验中苯酚浓度增加到1 g/L，微生物群落发生变化。在对照实验中，在苯酚 1.5 g/L 和Methanothrix sp.FDU243 也被抑制。然而，即使在苯酚 1.5 g/L 的情况下，hydrochar 也能维持几种参与醋酸生成的 MAG 和Methanothrix sp.FDU243，从而确保持续产生甲烷。此外，鉴定了 6 种苯酚降解 MAG，其变化取决于苯酚的浓度和水炭的存在。