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Conversion of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by Sphingomonas sp. VKM B-2434

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Abstract

A versatile bacterial strain able to convert polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was isolated, and a conversion by the isolate of both individual substances and PAH mixtures was investigated. The strain belonged to the Sphingomonas genus as determined on the basis of 16S rRNA analysis and was designated as VKM B-2434. The strain used naphthalene, acenaphthene, phenanthrene, anthracene and fluoranthene as a sole source of carbon and energy, and cometabolically oxidized fluorene, pyrene, benz[a]anthracene, chrysene and benzo[a]pyrene. Acenaphthene and fluoranthene were degraded by the strain via naphthalene-1,8-dicarboxylic acid and 3-hydroxyphthalic acid. Conversion of most other PAHs was confined to the cleavage of only one aromatic ring. The major oxidation products of naphthalene, phenanthrene, anthracene, chrysene, and benzo[a]pyrene were identified as salicylic acid, 1-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid, 3-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid, o-hydroxyphenanthroic acid and o-hydroxypyrenoic acid, respectively. Fluorene and pyrene were oxidized mainly to hydroxyfluorenone and dihydroxydihydropyrene, respectively. Oxidation of phenanthrene and anthracene to the corresponding hydroxynaphthoic acids occurred quantitatively. The strain converted phenanthrene, anthracene, fluoranthene and carbazole of coal-tar-pitch extract.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported financially by Russian Education Grant N P1,2,06; RFBR-Ural N 07-04-97625, and NATO Collaborative Linkage Grant, ESP.NR.NRCLG981949.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. G.K. Skryabin Institute of Biochemistry and Physiology of Microorganisms RAS, Prospekt Nauki, 5, Pushchino, Moscow region, Russia

    Mikhail Baboshin, Vladimir Akimov, Boris Baskunov & Ludmila Golovleva

  2. Pushchino State University, Prospekt Nauki, 3, Pushchino, Moscow region, Russia

    Mikhail Baboshin, Vladimir Akimov & Ludmila Golovleva

  3. Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, George Mason University, 4400 University Drive, Fairfax, VA, 22030-4444, USA

    Timothy L. Born & Shahamat U. Khan

Authors
  1. Mikhail Baboshin
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  2. Vladimir Akimov
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  3. Boris Baskunov
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  4. Timothy L. Born
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  5. Shahamat U. Khan
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  6. Ludmila Golovleva
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Correspondence to Ludmila Golovleva.

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Baboshin, M., Akimov, V., Baskunov, B. et al. Conversion of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by Sphingomonas sp. VKM B-2434. Biodegradation 19, 567–576 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10532-007-9162-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10532-007-9162-2

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