Isolation and characterization of benzo[a] pyrene-degrading bacteria from the Tokyo Bay area and Tama River in Japan

Benzo[a] pyrene (BaP) is one of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and has serious detrimental effects on human health and aquatic environments. In this study, we isolated nine bacterial strains capable of degrading BaP from the Tokyo Bay area and Tama River in Japan. The isolated bacteria belonged to the phyla Actinobacteria, Firmicutes, Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes, indicating that the BaP-degrading bacteria were widely present in the hydrosphere. ITB11, which shared 100% 16S rRNA identity with Mesoflavibacter zeaxanthinifaciens in the phylum Bacteroidetes, showed the highest degradation of BaP (approximately 86%) among the nine isolated strains after 42 days. Moreover, it was found that three of the nine isolated strains collectively removed 50-55% of BaP during the first 7 days. Growth measurement of M. zeaxanthinifaciens revealed that the strain utilized BaP as a sole carbon and energy source and salicylate acted only as an inducer of BaP degradation.