Isolation and characterization of high-strength phenol-degrading novel bacterium of the pantoea genus

Abstract

A new indigenous soil bacterium Pantoea strain NII-153 utilizing phenol as a sole carbon source was isolated and characterized. Phylogenetic analysis suggested its classification to the Enterobacteriaceae family, with 95.0% gene sequence similarity to Pantoea ananatis ATCC 33244. Biodegradation rates of phenol by NII-153 were found to be more effective at 64 h with initial concentration of 600 mg L- 1 of phenol and this is the first report of such activity in Pantoea species. Strain NII-153 has showed high tolerance to phenol concentration (900 mg L- 1). Therefore, strain NII-153 could be used for biotreatment of high-strength phenol-containing industrial effluents and for bioremediation of phenol-contaminated soils.