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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. Steffan^1*

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.

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* 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.

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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.

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