Pseudonocardia chloroethenivorans sp. nov., a chloroethene-degrading actinomycete

Abstract

A bacterial strain, SL-1T, capable of degrading trichloroethene was isolated from a laboratory enrichment in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Washington, USA. The material in the enrichments was derived from a soil sample from Seattle, WA, USA. Strain SL-1Twas capable of using phenol as a source of carbon and energy. Chemotaxonomic, morphological, physiological and phylogenetic analyses showed that strain SL-1Tis a member of the genusPseudonocardia. The ability of strain SL-1Tto utilize phenol and degrade trichloroethene, as well as other phenotypic properties and the results from a 16S rRNA phylogenetic analysis, led to the proposal of a novel species,Pseudonocardia chloroethenivoranssp. nov. The type strain is SL-1T(=ATCC BAA-742T=DSM 44698T). Trichloroethene and other chloroethenes are major pollutants at many environmental sites, andP. chloroethenivoranshas biodegradation properties that should be of interest to environmental microbiologists and engineers.