Isolation, Characterization and Phylogenetic Analysis of an Aerobic Bacterium Capable of Degrading Bensulfuronmethyl

Summary

An aerobic bacterium named strain BH was isolated from soil samples based on its bensulfuronmethyl-degrading characteristics using continuous enrichment cultures. The cells of the strain were non-motile, gram-positive short rods. Colonies formed on agar medium were round, smooth, sticky, white-yellow in colour and of butyrous consistency. Analyses of nutritional utilization in Biolog microplates, conventional phenotypic characteristics and 16S rRNA gene sequencing were consistent with assigning strain BH to the genus Brevibacterium. Growth of the cells and their ability to degrade bensulfuronmethyl were simultaneously monitored under different liquid medium conditions during 7 days of incubation. They degraded bensulfuronmethyl from 100 to 70.6 mg l⁻¹ in mineral M9 medium and exhibited more effective degradation in the presence of yeast extract, completely removing an initial concentration of 100 mg l⁻¹ and at best 80% of an initial concentration of 200 mg l⁻¹. Further studies are required to determine the potential use of the isolate in the disposal of bensulfuronmethyl residues in agriculture and industry.