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Versatile aromatic compound-degrading capacity and microdiversity of Thauera strains isolated from a coking wastewater treatment bioreactor

  • Original Paper
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Journal of Industrial Microbiology & Biotechnology

Abstract

Bacteria of the Thauera genus have been described as important aromatic compound degraders and have attracted increased attention. In this study, three Thauera strains (Q4, Q20-C, and 3–35) were isolated from a coking wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) with a high abundance of Thauera. The 16S rRNA, nitrite reductase, and phenol hydroxylase (LmPH) genes and pollutant-degrading capacity of these strains were characterized and compared. Their 16S rRNA gene sequences were identical, but the genomic structures differed, as demonstrated by distinct enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus sequence PCR profiles with a similarity of less than 0.65. The analysis of degradation of coking wastewater by these strains showed that most of the main organic pollutants—phenol, methylphenol, and indole, but not quinoline—were degraded under aerobic conditions. These strains contained different LmPHs genes and showed different phenol degradation rates (Q4 > 3–35 > Q20-C). The presence of a microdiversity of Thauera spp. implies the existence of various finely differentiated niches in the industrial WWTP. The capacity of the Thauera strains to degrade a wide spectrum of aromatic compounds suggests their potential in bioremediation applications targeting aromatic pollutant-containing wastewater.

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Acknowledgments

This research was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC 20677041), and National “863” High-tech R&D Program (2007AA021301), the Shanghai Leading Academic Discipline Project (B203), and the project 05SR07107 sponsored by Shanghai-Rhone bilateral collaboration research.

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  1. Xi Xia

    Present address: Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, China

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China

    Yuejian Mao, Xiaojun Zhang, Xi Xia, Huihui Zhong & Liping Zhao

  2. School of Life Science and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China

    Xiaojun Zhang

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  1. Yuejian Mao
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  2. Xiaojun Zhang
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Correspondence to Xiaojun Zhang.

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Mao, Y., Zhang, X., Xia, X. et al. Versatile aromatic compound-degrading capacity and microdiversity of Thauera strains isolated from a coking wastewater treatment bioreactor. J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol 37, 927–934 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10295-010-0740-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10295-010-0740-7

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