Sphingomonas cloacae sp. nov., a nonylphenol-degrading bacterium isolated from wastewater of a sewage-treatment plant in Tokyo.

Abstract

A nonylphenol-assimilating bacterium isolated at a sewage-treatment plant in Tokyo was studied phenotypically, genotypically and phylogenetically. Analysis of the 16S rDNA sequence, the GMC content of the DNA (63 mol %) and the isoprenoid quinone composition, as well as the presence of sphingoglycolipid and the whole-cell fatty acid profile, revealed that the isolate is a member of the genus Sphingomonas. However, the sequence similarity of the 16S rDNA with that of known Sphingomonas spp. was found to be at most 96 %, implying that the isolate is distinctive. Furthermore, the results of DNA-DNA hybridization experiments and its physiological characteristics clearly indicated that the isolate represents a new Sphingomonas species, for which the name Sphingomonas cloacae is proposed ; strain S-3 T (l JCM 10874 T l IAM 14885 T ) is the type strain.Keywords : Sphingomonas cloacae sp. nov., biodegradation, endocrine disrupter chemical, nonylphenol INTRODUCTIONNonylphenol (NP) is known as an important intermediate in the production of many kinds of commercial and industrial materials. Above all, NP is used in the production of nonylphenol polyethoxylate, a nonionic surfactant with many industrial applications. However, NP is also known as a ubiquitous pollutant in urban aquatic environments, with concentrations in the p.p.b. (µg l −" ) order, and is found in both sediment and surface water (Giger et al., 1984 ;Ahel & Giger, 1985 ;Brunner et al., 1988 ;Marcomini et al., 1990 ;Rudel et al., 1996 ;Isobe & Takada, 1998 ;Kojima & Watanabe, 1998). There is growing evidence that NP has a certain oestrogenic activity (Granmo et al., 1989 ;Ekelund et al., 1990 ;Soto et al., 1991 ;Ahel et al., 1993 ; Jobling & Sumpter, 1993 ;Gray & Metcalfe, 1997 ;Ren et al., 1997 ;Shurin & Dodson, 1997 ;Ashfield et al., 1998 ;Coldham et al., 1998 ;Sonnenschein & Soto, 1998 Abbreviation : NP, nonylphenol.The GenBank/DDBJ accession number for the 16S rDNA sequence of strain S-3 T is AB040739. et al., 2000) and have isolated a NPdegrading bacterium (K. Fujii and others, unpublished data), which has been designated strain S-3 T . This strain degraded 1000 p.p.m. NP, i.e. a 10 000-1 000 000-fold higher concentration than found in urban environments, almost completely within 10 d. Analysis of 16S rDNA partial sequences strongly suggested that the bacterium is a novel species of the genus Sphingomonas. Tokyo (FujiiTo precisely identify and phylogenetically place strain S-3 T , phenotypic characterization, analysis of isoprenoid quinone composition, fatty acid composition, polar lipid pattern and DNA GjC content, 16S rDNA sequencing and DNA-DNA hybridization were carried out. On the basis of our results we propose that S-3 T should be placed in a new species of the genus Sphingomonas, Sphingomonas cloacae. METHODS Chemicals* IFO, Institute for Fermentation, Osaka, Japan ; JCM, Japan Collection of Microorganisms, Saitama, Japan ; ATTC, American Type Culture Collection, Manassas, VA, USA ; DSM, Deutsche Sammlung von Mikroorganismen und Zellkulturen...

Degradation of the xenoestrogen nonylphenol by aquatic fungi and their laccases

“…Alternatively, nonylphenol isomers with highly branched alkyl chains initially may be attacked via hydroxylation of the phenolic ring. This has been proposed for bacterial isolates belonging to the genera Pseudomonas, Stenotrophomonas and Sphingomonas (Corvini et al, 2004;de Vries et al, 2001;Fujii et al, 2000Fujii et al, , 2001Soares et al, 2003;Tanghe et al, 1999), and intracellular monooxygenases have been proposed to be responsible for aromatic hydroxylation in Pseudomonas and Sphingomonas (de Vries et al, 2001;Soares et al, 2003).…”

“…The t-NP isomers with the more branched side chains are assumed to be more resistant to biodegradation than those with the less branched nonyl chains or 4-n-NP (Lalah et al, 2003;Tanghe et al, 1999). As yet, only a few bacterial pure cultures capable of utilizing chain-branched nonylphenols as growth substrates have been described (Corvini et al, 2004;de Vries et al, 2001;Fujii et al, 2000Fujii et al, , 2001Soares et al, 2003;Tanghe et al, 1999), while one yeast has been reported to grow on 4-n-NP (Vallini et al, 2001). …”

Proposal to reclassify [Sphingomonas] xenophaga Stolz et al. 2000 and [Sphingomonas] taejonensis Lee et al. 2001 as Sphingobium xenophagum comb. nov. and Sphingopyxis taejonensis comb. nov., respectively

“…nov., respectively, according to the scheme of Takeuchi et al (2001). The reclassification of Sphingomonas cloacae (Fujii et al, 2001) has already been taken up by O. Prakash & R. Lal (unpublished). The reclassification of 'Sphingomonas agrestis' has not been undertaken as it is not a species with a validly published name.…”

Organic Nutrient-dependent Degradation of Branched Nonylphenol by Sphingomonas sp. YT Isolated from a River Sediment Sample.

“…This feature is known to hamper microbial degradation 16,17) . Recently Tanghe et al 30) and subsequently Fujii et al 5,6) described the isolation of Sphingomonas strains able to grow on a commercial mixture of branched NP isomers as a sole carbon and energy source in pure culture. Until now, there have been only vague indications as to how branched NP molecules are attacked by bacteria 6,13,30) .…”