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Biodegradation of the Herbicide 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid by a New Isolated Strain of Achromobacter sp. LZ35

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Abstract

In this study, a bacterial strain of Achromobacter sp. LZ35, which was capable of utilizing 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and 2-methyl-4-chlorophenoxy acetic acid (MCPA) as the sole sources of carbon and energy for growth, was isolated from the soil in a disused pesticide factory in Suzhou, China. The optimal 2,4-D degradation by strain LZ35 occurred at 30 °C and pH 8.0 when the initial 2,4-D concentration was 200 mg L−1. Strain LZ35 harbored the conserved 2,4-D/alpha-ketoglutarate dioxygenase (96%) and 2,4-dichlorophenol hydroxylase (99%), and catabolized 2,4-D via the intermediate 2,4-dichlorophenol. The inoculation of 7.8 × 106 CFU g−1 soil of strain LZ35 cells to 2,4-D-contaminated soil could efficiently remove over 75 and 90% of 100 and 50 mg L−1 2,4-D in 12 days and significantly released the phytotoxicity of maize caused by the 2,4-D residue. This is the first report of an Achromobacter sp. strain that was capable of mineralizing both 2,4-D and MCPA. This study provides us a promising candidate for its application in the bioremediation of 2,4-D- or MCPA-contaminated sites.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Scientific Foundation from Yunnan Tobacco Company (2014YN08), the Outstanding Youth Foundation of Jiangsu Province (BK20130029), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (KYZ201422) and the Chinese National Natural Science Foundation (31501657).

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    1. Yunnan Academy of Tobacco Agricultural Science, Kunming, 650031, People’s Republic of China

      Zhen-Yuan Xia

    2. Department of Microbiology, Key Lab of Microbiological Engineering of Agricultural Environment, Ministry of Agriculture, College of Life Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, People’s Republic of China

      Long Zhang, Yan Zhao, Xin Yan, Shun-Peng Li & Jian-Dong Jiang

    3. The Institute of Plant Protection, Jiangsu Agricultural Academy Science, Nanjing, People’s Republic of China

      Tao Gu

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    Xia, ZY., Zhang, L., Zhao, Y. et al. Biodegradation of the Herbicide 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid by a New Isolated Strain of Achromobacter sp. LZ35. Curr Microbiol 74, 193–202 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-016-1173-y

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