Phenol degradation by Sulfobacillus acidophilus TPY via the meta-pathway

Publication date: Available online 14 May 2016 Source:Microbiological Research Author(s): Wengen Zhou, Wenbin Guo, Hongbo Zhou, Xinhua Chen Due to its toxicity and volatility, phenol must be cleared from the environment. Sulfobacillus acidophilus TPY, which was isolated from a hydrothermal vent in the Pacific Ocean as a moderately thermoacidophilic Gram-positive bacterium, was capable of aerobically degrading phenol. This bacterium could tolerate up to 1,300mg/L phenol and degrade 100mg/L phenol in 40h completely at 45°C and pH 1.8 with a maximal degradation rate of 2.32mg/L/h at 38h. Genome-wide search revealed that one gene (TPY_3176) and 14 genes clustered together in two regions with locus tags of TPY_0628- 0634 and TPY_0640-0646 was proposed to be involved in phenol degradation via the meta-pathway with both the 4-oxalocrotonate branch and the hydrolytic branch. Real-time PCR analysis of S. acidophilus TPY under phenol cultivation condition confirmed the transcription of proposed genes involved in the phenol degradation meta-pathway. Degradation of 3-methylphenol and 2-methylphenol confirmed that the hydrolytic branch was utilised by S. acidophilus TPY. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that S. acidophilus TPY was closely related to sulfate-reducing bacteria and some Gram-positive phenol-degrading bacteria. This was the first report demonstrating the ability of S. acidophilus to degrade phenol and characterising the putative genes involved in phenol metabolism ...
Source: Microbiological Research - Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: research