Atrazine biodegradation by a bacterial community immobilized in two types of packed-bed biofilm reactors

Through selective enrichment of atrazine-metabolizing microorganisms, a microbial community was selected from agricultural soil. Bacterial isolates, identified by their closest similarity with 16S rDNA sequences stored in NCBI GeneBank, belonged to the genera: Massilia, Stenotrophomonas, Klebsiella, Sphingomonas, Ochrobactrum, Arthrobacter, Microbacterium, Xanthomonas and Ornithinimicrobium. From these strains, only the first six used atrazine as nitrogen and carbon source. The microbial community attached to a non-porous support was evaluated for its atrazine biodegradation rate and removal efficiency under aerobic conditions in two types of packed-bed biofilm reactors fed with a mineral salt medium containing glucose plus atrazine, or atrazine as the sole carbon and nitrogen source. Removal efficiencies near 100% were obtained at loading rates up to 10 mg l⁻¹ h⁻¹. After long periods of continuous operation, the richness of microbial species in biofilm reactors diminished to only three bacterial strains; Stenotrophomonas sp., Ochrobactrum sp. and Arthrobacter sp. By PCR analysis of their DNA, the presence of atzABC genes codifying for the enzymes of the upper catabolic pathway of atrazine, was confirmed in the three strains. The gene atzD that encodes for the cyanuric acid amidohydrolase enzyme was detected only in Stenotrophomonas sp.