Journal of Environmental Biology

Nutrients and culture conditions requirements for the

degradation of phenol by Rhodococcus UKMP-5M

Yaacob Nor Suhaila^1,4, Mohamad Rosfarizan^1,2, Siti Aqlima Ahmad³,? Ibrahim Abdul Latif⁴?and
Arbakariya Bin Ariff^1,2*

¹Institute of Bioscience, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia

²Department of Bioprocess Technology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Universiti Putra
Malaysia-43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia

³Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Universiti
Putra Malaysia-43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia

⁴Institute of Bio-IT Selangor, Universiti Selangor, Jalan Zirkon A7/A, Seksyen 7, 40000 Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia

*Corresponding Author email : arbarif@biotech.upm.edu.my

Publication Data

Paper received:

01 August 2012

Revised received:

12 November 2012

Accepted:

18 December 2012

Abstract

The capability of Rhodococcus UKMP-5M, isolated from petroleum contaminated soil, in the degradation of phenol was studied using shake flask culture. The effect of nutrients and cultivation conditions on growth of this bacterium and phenol degradation was investigated. Among the different types of medium tested (M1, M2, M3 and M4), M1 was found to be the preferred medium for growth of this bacterium and phenol degradation. The optimized cultivation conditions for growth of Rhodococcus UKMP-5M and phenol degradation were; 30oC, initial pH 7.5 and buffer concentration ranged from 5 to 50 mM. Improvement of growth and phenol degradation was achieved in medium supplemented with 2 g l^-1?glucose. In addition, NaCl at a concentration of 0.1 g l^-1?was required to enhance growth and phenol degradation. The addition of 0.4 g l^-1?(NH4)2SO4?into the culture medium greatly enhanced phenol degradation.? At optimal medium composition and cultivation condition, Rhodococcus UKMP-5M was able to utilize phenol at concentration up to 900 mg l^-1. Results of this study showed that Rhodococcus UKMP-5M has potential to be used in the degradation of phenol.

Key words

Cultivation parameters, Rhodococcus UKMP-5M, Phenol degradation

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