Aerobic nitrate respiration by a newly isolated phenol-degrading bacterium, Alcaligenes strain P5

Abstract

An aerobic, nitrate-respiring bacterium which can degrade phenol under aerobic conditions was isolated and identified as Alcaligenes sp. Under microaerobic culture, the maximum concentration for phenol to be degraded was 0.29 mM in the presence of nitrate/O-2 but only 0.16 mM in the presence of O-2 alone. Azide (0.1 mM) and Triton X-100 (0.5%) inhibited nitrate reduction and cell growth completely in anoxic culture but had little or no effect on nitrate reduction in aerobic culture.