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Updated: Jun 20, 2026

Isolation, Propagation, and Identification of Bacterial Species with Hydrocarbon Metabolizing Properties from Aquatic Habitats
Published on: December 7, 2021
Isolation and identification of dibutyl phthalate-degrading bacteria from hydrospheres in Tokyo
Go Ogawa1, Masami Ishida, Naoto Urano
1Laboratory of Marine Biochemistry, Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology, Tokyo, Japan.
Abstract:
Dibutyl phthalate (DBP) is used widely as a plasticizer and is thought to negatively affect various organisms. To isolate and investigate DBP-degrading bacteria from hydrospheres in Tokyo, strains were selected on YNB medium containing DBP as the sole carbon source, and candidate strains were identified by zones of clearing around the colonies. Degradation of DBP by the strains was subsequently measured with HPLC, and bacterial identification was accomplished using 16S rDNA sequences. Nineteen strains of DBP degraders were isolated from activated sludge in a sewage treatment plant, from Tokyo Bay, and from the Takahama Canal. These strains degraded 16.8%-88.0% of DBP (0.1%, v/v) for 2 weeks and were identified as several species of Acinetobacter, as well as Tsukamurella tyrosinosolvens, Ochrobactrum anthropi, and Staphylococcus saprophyticus. Commercially available strains of Acinetobacter were also found to degrade DBP.
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