A 1.3-kb DNA fragment isolated from Staphylococcus haemolyticus strain DSM 20264 can be used as a specific probe for this species. The probe hybridized with 39 clinical isolates of S. haemolyticus but not with any of the 121 isolates representative of the other 25 species of staphylococci described to date.

Five bacterial strains with the unique ability to utilize low molecular linear caprolactam oligomers (nylon oligomers) were isolated from soil samples contaminated with industrial wastes of epsilon caprolactam. Based on the properties studied and also on the analysis of 16S rRNA gene nucleotide sequences, the strains BS2, BS3, BS9, BS38, and BS57 were identified as belonging to the genera Arthrobacter, Brevibacterium, Microbacterium, Gulosibacter, and Achromobacter, respectively. All of the strains also utilized 6 aminohexanoic and adipic acids, which are intermediates of the epsilon caprolactam catabolism. This indirectly points to the fact that degradation of oligomers in these bacteria occurs via the monomer degradation pathway. The strains BS9 and BS57 utilized only caprolactam oligomers, while BS2, BS3, and BS38 also degraded epsilon caprolactam and its homologs, enantolactam and caprylolactam, which differentiates the latter from the previously known oligomers degrading bacteria and suggests the presence in these strains of enzymes with lac tam hydrolase activity, in addition to 6 aminohexanoate dimer hydrolase.

Five bacterial strains with the unique ability to utilize low-molecular linear caprolactam olygomers (nylon olygomers) were isolated from soil samples contaminated with industrial wastes of epsilon-caprolactam. Based on the properties studied and also on the analysis of 16S rRNA gene nucleotide sequences, the strains BS2,BS3, BS9, BS38, and BS57 were classified to the general Arthrobacter, Brevibacterium, Microbacteriun, Gulosibacter, and Achromobacter, respectively. All of the strains also utilized 6-aminohexanoic and adipic acids, which are intermidiates of the epsilon-caprolactam catabolism. This indirectly points to the fact that degradation of olygomers in these bacteria occurs via the monomer degradation pathway. The BS9 and BS57 strains utilized only olygomers of the epsilon-caprolactam, while BS2, BS3, and BS38 also degraded epsilon-caprolactam and its homologs, enantolactam and caprylolactam, which differentiates the latter from the previously known degraders of olygomers and suggests the presence in these strains of enzymes with lactam hydrolase activity, in addition to 6-aminohexanoate-dimer hydrolase.

epsilon-Caprolactam (Caprolactam, CAP), a monomer of the synthetic non-degradable polymer nylon-6, is the major wastewater component in the production of caprolactam and nylon-6. Biological treatment of CAP, using microbes could be a potent alternative to the current waste utilization techniques. This work focuses on the characterization and potential use of caprolactam-degrading bacterial strain BS3 isolated from soils polluted by CAP production wastes. The strain was identified as Brevibacterium epidermidis based on the studies of its morphological, physiological, and biochemical properties and 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. This study is the first to report the ability of Brevibacterium to utilize CAP. Strain BS3 is an alcalo- and halotolerant organism, that grows within a broad range of CAP concentrations, from 0.5 up to 22.0 g/L, optimally at 1.0–2.0 g/L. A caprolactam biodegradation experiment using gas chromatography showed BS3 to degrade 1.0 g/L CAP over 160 h. In contrast to earlier characterized narrow-specific CAP-degrading bacteria, strain BS3 is also capable of utilizing linear nylon oligomers (oligomers of 6-aminohexanoic acid), CAP polymerization by-products, as sole sources of carbon and energy. The broad range of utilized toxic pollutants, the tolerance for high CAP concentrations, as well as the physiological properties of B. epidermidis BS3, determine the prospects of its use for the biological cleanup of CAP and nylon-6 production wastes that contain CAP, 6-aminohexanoic acid, and low molecular weight oligomer fractions.