Rhodococcus wratislaviensis strain 9: An efficient p-nitrophenol degrader with a great potential for bioremediation.

Journal: Journal of hazardous materials
Published Date:

Abstract

A Gram-positive bacterium, Rhodococcus wratislaviensis strain 9, was isolated from groundwater contaminated with nitrophenolics and trichloroethene following enrichment culture technique. The cells of strain 9 grown on LB broth (uninduced) degraded 720 μM p-nitrophenol (PNP) within 12 h, and utilized as a source of carbon and energy. Orthogonal experimental design analysis to determine optimal conditions for biodegradation of PNP showed that pH had a significant positive effect (P ≤ .05) on bacterial degradation of PNP, while glucose, di- and tri-nitrophenols exhibited significant negative effect. Cell-free extracts obtained from PNP-grown culture that contained 20 μg mL protein degraded 90% of 720 μM PNP within 5 h of incubation. Two-dimensional protein analysis revealed differential expression of the oxygenase component of PNP monooxygenase and an elongation factor Tu in PNP-grown cells, but not in those grown on glucose. The strain 9 remediated laboratory wastewater containing 900 μM PNP efficiently within 14 h, indicating its great potential in bioremediation of PNP-contaminated waters.

Authors

  • Suresh R Subashchandrabose
    Global Centre for Environmental Remediation (GCER), Faculty of Science, The University of Newcastle, ATC Building, University Drive, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia; Cooperative Research Centre for Contamination Assessment and Remediation of the Environment, P.O. Box 18, Callaghan NSW 2308, Australia.
  • Kadiyala Venkateswarlu
    Formerly Professor of Microbiology, Sri Krishnadevaraya University, Anantapur 515055, India.
  • Kannan Krishnan
    Global Centre for Environmental Remediation (GCER), Faculty of Science, The University of Newcastle, ATC Building, University Drive, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia; Cooperative Research Centre for Contamination Assessment and Remediation of the Environment, P.O. Box 18, Callaghan NSW 2308, Australia.
  • Ravi Naidu
    Global Centre for Environmental Remediation (GCER), Faculty of Science, The University of Newcastle, ATC Building, University Drive, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia; Cooperative Research Centre for Contamination Assessment and Remediation of the Environment, P.O. Box 18, Callaghan NSW 2308, Australia.
  • Robin Lockington
    Future Industries Institute, University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes, SA 5095, Australia.
  • Mallavarapu Megharaj
    Global Centre for Environmental Remediation (GCER), Faculty of Science, The University of Newcastle, ATC Building, University Drive, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia; Cooperative Research Centre for Contamination Assessment and Remediation of the Environment, P.O. Box 18, Callaghan NSW 2308, Australia. Electronic address: megh.mallavarapu@newcastle.edu.au.