Psychrobacter spp. from an Arctic marine environment: Versatile candidates for the degradation of phenolic compounds

Abstract

Phenol and its derivatives have challenged pollution/waste management due to being structurally recalcitrant to degradation processes. Bio-based processes continue to be the preferred choice for removal of phenols due to being cost effective and environmentally friendly. In recent years, cold environments have been at increased risk of pollution with phenols as well as other hydrocarbons. In this study, a bacterial culture collection from Arctic marine environment was screened for isolates able to oxidize 2-methoxyphenol. The positive isolates were identified as members of the genus Psychrobacter not previously known for degradation of phenolics. Based on phylogenetic tree generated from 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, four distantly located strains were chosen for genome sequencing followed by data mining and transcriptome analysis in order to obtain more insights into their capabilities in degrading phenolic compounds.