Isolation and identification of dibutyl phthalate-degrading bacteria from hydrospheres in Tokyo.

Dibutyl phthalate (DBP) is used widely as a plasticizer and is thought to negatively affect various organisms. To isolate and investigate DBP-degrading bacteria from hydrospheres in Tokyo, strains were selected on YNB medium containing DBP as the sole carbon source, and candidate strains were identified by zones of clearing around the colonies. Degradation of DBP by the strains was subsequently measured with HPLC, and bacterial identification was accomplished using 16S rDNA sequences. Nineteen strains of DBP degraders were isolated from activated sludge in a sewage treatment plant, from Tokyo Bay, and from the Takahama Canal. These strains degraded 16.8%-88.0% of DBP (0.1%, v/v) for 2 weeks and were identified as several species of Acinetobacter, as well as Tsukamurella tyrosinosolvens, Ochrobactrum anthropi, and Staphylococcus saprophyticus. Commercially available strains of Acinetobacter were also found to degrade DBP.