Microbiology Biodegradation of phenol by bacterial strains and their catalytic ability

The capability of azo dye degrading strains, designated as S1, P-NA, P-NY, and A-NA was investigated for their ability to degrade phenol. The strains were identified as Bacillus cereus S1, Brevibacillus spp. P-NA, Bacillus sp. P-NY, and as Brevibacillus sp. A-NA based on 16S rRNA gene sequencing and phylogenetic analysis. The strains acclimatized well to increasing concentration of phenol (2001000 mg/l) on MSM media in the presence of 1% glucose. The strains were having best phenol degrading ability at pH 7.2 and 37°C. The biodegradability of phenol was confirmed through HPLC and GC-MS analysis. Catechol and formation other metabolic intermediates of phenol degradation, identified by comparing their retention time (RT in NIST library (National Institute of Standard and Technology), and predominant activity catechol 2, 3-dioxygenase indicated by meta-cleavage pathway.