[Isolation and identification of a strain DN2 degrading nicotine]

A bacterial strain which was able to utilize nicotine as its sole carbon source was isolated from soil in which tobacco had grown at Sanming region in FUjian Province and named as DN2. Upon chemotaxonomic characterization and phylogenetic inference based 16S rDNA analysis, the strain DN2 was identified as a-proteobacteria, Ochrobactrum intermedium. For DN2 degrading nicotine, the optimal pH and temperature is 6.5, 30 degrees C respectively. It can tolerate high-concentration of nicotine up to 4000 mg/L in basal media. Using 500 mg/L nicotine as its sole carbon, the strain was able to degrade 15 mg/L of nicotine per liter per hour and reached its stationary phase in about 36 hours.