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Degradation of carbazole and its derivatives by a Pseudomonas sp.

  • ENVIRONMENTAL BIOTECHNOLOGY
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Abstract

Carbazole, carbazoles with monomethyl or dimethyls substituted on different positions (C1-carbazoles or C2-carbazoles), and benzocarbazoles, as toxic and mutagenic components of petroleum and creosote contamination, were biodegradable by an isolated bacterial strain Pseudomonas sp. XLDN4-9. C1-carbazoles were degraded in preference to carbazole and C2-carbazoles. The biodegradation of C1-carbazoles or C2-carbazoles was influenced by the positions of methyl substitutions. Among C1-carbazole isomers, 1-methyl carbazole was the most susceptible. C2-carbazole isomers with substitutions on the same benzo-nucleus were more susceptible at a concentration of less than 3.4 μg g−1 petroleum, especially when harboring one substitution on position 1. In particular, 1,5-dimethyl carbazole was the most recalcitrant dimethyl isomer.

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Acknowledgements

The work was supported by the Chinese National Natural Science Foundation (grant nos. 20377026 and 20590368) and Chinese National Programs for High Technology Research and Development (grant no. 2004AA649160).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Shandong University, Jinan, 250100, People’s Republic of China

    Li Li, Qinggang Li, Fuli Li, Bo Yu, Fengrui Liu & Ping Xu

  2. School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Jinan, 250100, People’s Republic of China

    Li Li

  3. State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing, China University of Petroleum, Beijing, 102200, People’s Republic of China

    Quan Shi

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  1. Li Li
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  2. Qinggang Li
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  3. Fuli Li
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  4. Quan Shi
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  5. Bo Yu
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  6. Fengrui Liu
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  7. Ping Xu
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Correspondence to Ping Xu.

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Li, L., Li, Q., Li, F. et al. Degradation of carbazole and its derivatives by a Pseudomonas sp.. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 73, 941–948 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-006-0530-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-006-0530-3

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