Isolation and characterization of isopimaric acid-degrading bacteria from a sequencing batch reactor

We isolated two aerobic, gram-negative bacteria which grew on the diterpene resin acid isopimaric acid (IpA) as the sole carbon source and electron donor. The source of the isolates was a sequencing batch reactor treating a high-strength process stream from a paper mill. The isolates, IpA-1 and IpA-2, also grew on pimaric and dehydroabietic acids, and IpA-1 grew on abietic acid. Both strains used fatty acids, but neither strain used camphor, sitosterol, or betulin. Strain IpA-1 grew anaerobically with nitrate as an electron acceptor. Strains IpA-1 and IpA-2 had growth yields of 0.19 and 0.23 g of protein per g of IpA, respectively. During growth, both strains transformed IpA carbon to approximately equal amounts of biomass, carbon dioxide, and dissolved organic carbon. In both strains, growth on IpA induced an enzymatic system which caused cell suspensions to transform all four of the above resin acids. Cell suspensions of IpA-1 and IpA-2 removed IpA at rates of 0.56 and 0.13 mumol mg of protein-1 h-1, respectively. Cultures and cell suspensions of both strains failed to completely consume pimaric acid and yielded small amounts of an apparent metabolite from this acid. Cultures and cell suspensions of both strains yielded large amounts of three apparent metabolites from dehydroabietic acid. Analysis of 16S rDNA sequences indicated that the isolates are distinct members of the genus Pseudomonas sensu stricto.