Biodegradation of 4-chlorobenzoic acid by Pseudomonas aeruginosa PA01 NC

A bacterial consortium capable of degrading chloroaromatic compounds was isolated from pulp and paper mill effluents by selective enrichment on 4-chlorobenzoic acid as sole source of carbon and energy. The four different bacterial isolates obtained from bacterial consortium were identified as Pseudomonas aeruginosa AY792969 (A), P. aeruginosa PA01 NC (B), Pseudomonas sp. ZZ5 DQ113452 (C) and Pseudomonas sp. AY762360 (D) based on their morphological and biochemical characteristics and by phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences. These bacterial isolates were found to be versatile in degrading a variety of chloroaromatic compounds including fluoro- and iodobenzoic acids. P. aeruginosa PA01 NC utilized 4-chlorobenzoic acid at 2 g/l as growth substrate. Biodegradation studies have revealed that this organism degraded 4-chlorobenzoic acid through 4-chlorocatechol which was further metabolized by ortho-cleavage pathway and the dechlorination occurred after the ring-cleavage.