Updated project metadata. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are widely distributed pollutants. As in saturated PAH-contaminated sites oxygen is rapidly depleted, microorganisms able to use these compounds as a carbon source in the absence of molecular oxygen are crucial for their consumption. Here, we described the metabolic pathway for anaerobic degradation of phenanthrene by a sulfate-reducing enrichment culture (TRIP) obtained from a natural asphalt lake. The dominant organism of this culture belongs to the Desulfobacteraceae family of deltaproteobacteria. Proteogenome analysis revealed that the metabolic capacity of this bacterium includes the key enzymes for dissimilatory sulfate reduction, the Embden-Meyerhof-Parnas pathway, a complete tricarboxylic acid cycle as well as the key elements of the Wood-Ljungdahl pathway. Genes encoding enzymes potentially involved in the degradation of phenanthrene were identified in the genome of this bacterium. Two gene clusters were identified encoding a carboxylase enzyme involved in the activation of phenanthrene, as well as genes encoding reductases potentially involved in subsequent ring dearomatization and reduction steps. The predicted metabolic pathways were corroborated by transcriptome and proteome analyses and provide the first metabolic pathway for anaerobic degradation of three-rings PAHs.