[Isolation, identification and degradation characteristics of a quinoline-degrading bacterium Rhodococcus sp QL2]

A quinoline-degrading bacterium QL2, which utilizes quinoline as sole source of carbon, nitrogen and energy, was isolated from activated sludge in a coke-plant wastewater biological treatment system. According to the morphological characteristics, physiological and biochemical characteristics, and sequence analysis of 16S rRNA, the strain was identified as Rhodococcus sp.. The optimal temperature, initial pH, and shaker rotary speed for strain QL2 utilizing quinoline are 35-42 degrees C, pH 8-9, and 150 r/min, respectively. Extra nitrogen sources stimulate the isolate growth on quinoline, and inorganic nitrogen better than organic nitrogen, NH4+ -N better than NO3(-) -N. The degradation reaction of quinoline by strain QL2 can be described with zero order kinetic equation within the initial quinoline concentrations of 60-680 mg/L. When the initial concentration was 150 mg/L, quinoline was degraded completely in 8 hours and TOC removal efficiency was 70% in 14 hours. This bacterium produced pigmented compounds, and ring nitrogen was released into the growth medium as ammonium. The main intermediate in the degradation pathway was 2-hydroxyquinoline by the analysis of HPLC and GC/MS. With a broad range of substrate utilization, the strain can degrade phenol, naphthalene, pyridine, and some other kinds of aromatic compounds.