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Characterization of the novel HCH-degrading strain, Microbacterium sp. ITRC1

  • Applied Microbial and Cell Physiology
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Abstract

A gram-positive Microbacterium sp. strain, ITRC1, that was able to degrade the persistent and toxic hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) isomers was isolated and characterized. The ITRC1 strain has the capacity to degrade all four major isomers of HCH present in both liquid cultures and aged contaminated soil. DNA fragments corresponding to the two initial genes involved in γ-HCH degradative pathway, encoding enzymes for γ-pentachlorocyclohexene hydrolytic dehalogenase (linB) and a 2,5-dichloro-2,5-cyclohexadiene-1,4-diol dehydrogenase (linC), were amplified by PCR and sequenced. Their presence in the ITRC1 genomic DNA was also confirmed by Southern hybridization. Sequencing of the amplified DNA fragment revealed that the two genes present in the ITRC1 strain were homologous to those present in Sphingomonas paucimobilis UT26. Both 16S rRNA sequencing and phylogenetic analysis resulted in the identification of the bacteria as a Microbacterium sp. We assume that these HCH-degrading bacteria evolved independently but possessed genes similar to S. paucimobilis UT26. The reported results indicate that catabolic genes for γ-HCH degradation are highly conserved in diverse genera of bacteria, including the gram-positive groups, occurring in various environmental conditions.

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Acknowledgements

We are indebted to Yuji Nagata, Department of Biotechnology, University of Tohuku, Sendai, Japan, for providing us the recombinant plasmids. We are grateful to H.-J. Knackmuss, University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany, for his keen interest and advice. We are thankful to Manish Kumar for his help in the manuscript preparation. This work was supported by a fellowship from Deutscher Adademisher AustausDienst to NM. This article carries the ITRC communication number 2364.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Environmental Biotechnology Section, Industrial Toxicology Research Centre, Post Box No. 80, M.G. Marg, Lucknow, 226 001, India

    N. Manickam

  2. Institute for Microbiology, University of Stuttgart, 70569, Stuttgart, Germany

    N. Manickam, M. Mau & M. Schlömann

  3. Interdisciplinary Ecology Centre, Technical University, Bergacademy, 09599, Freiberg, Germany

    M. Mau & M. Schlömann

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  1. N. Manickam
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Correspondence to N. Manickam.

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Manickam, N., Mau, M. & Schlömann, M. Characterization of the novel HCH-degrading strain, Microbacterium sp. ITRC1. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 69, 580–588 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-005-0162-z

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