Isolation and characterization of a novel heterotrophic nitrifying and aerobic denitrifying bacterium Pseudomonas stutzeri KTB for bioremediation of wastewater

A novel heterotrophic nitrifying and aerobic denitrifying bacterium, KTB, was isolated from activated sludge flocci collected from a biological aerated filter according to the modified Takaya method and identified as Pseudomonas stutzeri by 16S rDNA gene sequence analysis. When shaking-cultured in the presence of 4.331 mmol/L of nitrate, 4.511 mmol/L of nitrite and 4.438 mmol/L of ammonium, the strain grew fast, with μ_max being 0.42, 0.45, and 0.56/h, and displayed high nitrogen removal efficiency, with nitrogen removal rate being 0.239, 0.362, and 0.361 mmol/L/h and nitrogen removal ratio being 99.1, 100.0, and 100.0% in 18 h, respectively. The removal mainly occurred in the logarithmic phase. Nitrite accumulation did not affect denitrification performance. Nitrate concentration was below the detectable limit during the whole growth cycle when ammonium was used as sole nitrogen source. It tolerated high DO level and exhibited excellent aggregation ability. A possible pathway involved in the nitrogen removal process, which demonstrated a full nitrification and denitrification route, was speculated. The strain might be a great candidate for biological removal of nitrogen compounds from wastewater.