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Isolation and characterization of phenol degrading <i>Xanthobacter flavus</i>


A Nagamani
R Soligalla
M Lowry

Abstract

A soil bacterium isolated from a contaminated site degraded phenol as the sole carbon and energy source was identified as Xanthobacter flavus MTCC 9130. This microbial strain was able to tolerate phenol up to 1100 mg/l concentration. The lag phase increased with the increase in phenol
concentration. The optimum growth temperature was 37°C. The organism could degrade completely within 120 h when initial concentration was less than 600 mg/l. Enzyme assay through cell free extract showed the presence of catechol-1,2-dioxygenase. The specific activity was 0.146 ìmol/min/mg protein. However higher concentrations of phenol in the medium showed a negative effect on the growth of the bacterium. Hence X. flavus can be effectively used for bioremediation of phenol-contaminated sites.

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eISSN: 1684-5315