Phenol biodegradation by Acinetobacter radioresistens APH1 and its application in soil bioremediation

Phenol accounts for a large proportion of the contamination in industrial wastewater discharged from chemical plants due to its wide use as a raw chemical. Residual phenol waste in water and soil significantly endangers human health and the natural environment. In this study, an Acinetobacter radioresistens strain, APH1, was isolated and identified for its efficient capability of utilizing phenol as sole carbon source for growth. A draft genome sequence containing 3,290,330 bases with 45 contigs was obtained, and 22 genes were found to be involved in phenol metabolism and 51 putative drug-resistance genes were annotated by genomic analysis. The optimal conditions for cell culture and phenol removal were determined to be 30 °C, pH 6.0, and a phenol concentration of 500 mg/L; the upper limit of phenol tolerance was 950 mg/L. Based on GC-MS analysis, the key metabolites including cis,cis-muconic acid, catechol, and succinic acid were detected. During bioremediation experiment using 450 mg/kg (dry weight) of phenol-contaminated soil, the strain APH1 removed 99% of the phenol within 3 days. According to microbial diversity analysis, the microbial abundance of Chungangia, Bacillus, Nitrospira, Lysinibacillus, and Planomicrobium increased after the addition of phenol. Furthermore, at day 23, the abundance of strain APH1 was greatly reduced, and the microbial diversity and structure of the whole microbial community were gradually recovered, indicating that strain APH1 would not affect this microbial ecosystem. These findings provide insights into the bioremediation of soil contaminated with phenol.