Characterisation of phenol degradation by Acinetobacter sp. XA05 and Sphingomonas sp. FG03

Abstract

Two new strains named XA05 and FG03 were isolated from activated sludge and phenol-contaminated soils, respectively. Analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that XA05 belonged to an Acinetobacter sp. and FG03 was closely related to Sphingomonas sp. Strains XA05 and FG03 were cultivated in minimal medium supplemented with different phenol concentrations as a sole carbon source. Results showed that 99.5% and 78.3% phenol were removed by strain XA05 within 45 h and 60 h, with an initial concentration of 800 mg/l and 1000 mg/l phenol, respectively. In addition, 97.6% and 68.1% phenol were removed by strain FG03 under the same conditions. When two strains were mixed at the ratio of 1:1, 99.8% and 97.2% of phenol were removed within 35 h and 60 h, with an initial concentration of 800 mg/l and 1000 mg/l phenol, respectively. Kinetics of phenol degradation by strain XA05 and FG03 and the influence of other aromatic compounds such as benzophenone, 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, cinnamic acid and resorcin to the growth of two strains were also investigated in this study.

Keywords:

• phenol
• biodegradation
• kinetic
• Acinetobacter sp.
• Sphingomonas sp

Acknowledgements

The study is supported by the Key Project from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC, Grant No. 50838005) and the Foundation of the Educational Department of Shaanxi Province (06JK267).