No abstract

The degradation of pentachloronitrobenzene (PCNB) by an individual bacterial strain is being reported for the first time. The efficient PCNB-degrading strain DH19 was isolated from ginseng rhizosphere soil and identified as Arthrobacter nicotianae. The strain could utilize PCNB as the sole carbon source for growth and degradation. In addition, strain DH19 could efficiently degrade dichlorodiphenyl trichloroethane, hexachlorocyclohexane, cypermethrin and cyhalothrin. Five metabolites from PCNB degradation were identified, and a possible degradation pathway was deduced. The results suggest that A. nicotianae DH19 has great potential for the bioremediation of PCNB-contaminated environments.