Isolation and Characterization of a Phenol-Degrading Strain Acinetobacter sp.GEM2

A bacterial strain which formed a distinct colony on agar plate containing phenol as a vapor phase and grew well in a liquid minimal medium was isolated and identified as Acinetobac- ter sp. GEM2. The optimal temperature and initial pH for the growth of Acinetobacter sp. GEM2 were 30$\circ$C and 7.0, respectively. Cell growth was inhibited by phenol at the concentration over 1500 ppm. Cell growth dramatically increased from 10 hours after cultivation and almost showed a stationary phase within 24 hours at which 95% of phenol was concomitantly degraded. Acinetobac- ter sp. GEM2 was capable of growing on aromatic compounds, such as benzoic acid, phenol, m- cresol, o-cresol, P-cresol, catechol, gentisic acid, and toluene, but did not grow on benzene, salicylic acid, p-toluic acid, and p-xylene. By the analysis of catechol dioxygenase, it seemed that catechol was degraded through both meta- and ortho-cleavage pathway. The growth-limiting log P value of Acinetobacter sp. GEM2 on organic solvents was 2.0.