Biodegradation of 2,4,6-tribromophenol by Ochrobactrum sp. strain TB01

A bacterium that utilizes 2,4,6-tribromophenol (2,4,6-TBP) as sole carbon and energy source was isolated from soil contaminated with brominated pollutants. This bacterium, designated strain TB01, was identified as an Ochrobactrum species. The organism degraded 100 microM of 2,4,6-TBP within 36 h in a growing culture. In addition, it released 3 mol of bromine ions from 1 mol of 2,4,6-TBP during the complete degradation of 2,4,6-TBP in a resting cell assay. Moreover, cells grown on 2,4,6-TBP degraded 2,6-dibromophenol (2,6-DBP), 4-bromophenol (4-BP), 2,4,6-trichlorophenol (2,4,6-TCP) and phenol. Metabolic intermediates were detected in the reaction mixture of an in vitro assay for 2,4,6-TBP, and they were identified as 2,4-DBP and 2-BP. NADH was required for the debromination of 2,4,6-TBP. These results suggest that 2,4,6-TBP is converted to phenol through sequential reductive debromination reactions via 2,4-DBP and 2-BP by this strain.