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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, August 2006, p. 5218-5224, Vol. 72, No. 8
0099-2240/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.00160-06
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Biodegradation of Ether Pollutants by Pseudonocardia sp. Strain ENV478

Simon Vainberg,1 Kevin McClay,1 Hisako Masuda,2 Duane Root,3 Charles Condee,1 Gerben J. Zylstra,2 and Robert J. Steffan1*

Shaw Environmental, Inc., 17 Princess Rd., Lawrenceville, New Jersey 08648,1 Biotechnology Center for Agriculture and the Environment, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey 08901,2 Shaw Environmental, Inc., 304 Directors Dr., Knoxville, Tennessee 379233

Received 20 January 2006/ Accepted 22 May 2006

A bacterium designated Pseudonocardia sp. strain ENV478 was isolated by enrichment culturing on tetrahydrofuran (THF) and was screened to determine its ability to degrade a range of ether pollutants. After growth on THF, strain ENV478 degraded THF (63 mg/h/g total suspended solids [TSS]), 1,4-dioxane (21 mg/h/g TSS), 1,3-dioxolane (19 mg/h/g TSS), bis-2-chloroethylether (BCEE) (12 mg/h/g TSS), and methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) (9.1 mg/h/g TSS). Although the highest rates of 1,4-dioxane degradation occurred after growth on THF, strain ENV478 also degraded 1,4-dioxane after growth on sucrose, lactate, yeast extract, 2-propanol, and propane, indicating that there was some level of constitutive degradative activity. The BCEE degradation rates were about threefold higher after growth on propane (32 mg/h/g TSS) than after growth on THF, and MTBE degradation resulted in accumulation of tert-butyl alcohol. Degradation of 1,4-dioxane resulted in accumulation of 2-hydroxyethoxyacetic acid (2HEAA). Despite its inability to grow on 1,4-dioxane, strain ENV478 degraded this compound for >80 days in aquifer microcosms. Our results suggest that the inability of strain ENV478 and possibly other THF-degrading bacteria to grow on 1,4-dioxane is related to their inability to efficiently metabolize the 1,4-dioxane degradation product 2HEAA but that strain ENV478 may nonetheless be useful as a biocatalyst for remediating 1,4-dioxane-contaminated aquifers.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Shaw Environmental, Inc., 17 Princess Rd., Lawrenceville, NJ 08648. Phone: (609) 895-5350. Fax: (609) 895-1858. E-mail: Rob.Steffan{at}shawgrp.com.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, August 2006, p. 5218-5224, Vol. 72, No. 8
0099-2240/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.00160-06
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • McClay, K., Schaefer, C. E., Vainberg, S., Steffan, R. J. (2007). Biodegradation of Bis(2-Chloroethyl) Ether by Xanthobacter sp. Strain ENV481. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 73: 6870-6875 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


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