Inoculation of microorganisms to enhance biodegradation of phenolic compounds in industrial wastewater: Isolation and identification of three-indigenous bacterial strains

Six indigenous and six non-indigenous bacteria capable of degrading phenolic compounds in pure cultures were inoculated into industrial wastewater samples of Puerto Rico containing high and low concentrations of p-nitrophenol (PNP). While only one non-indigenous bacteria enhanced PNP degradation, all of the indigenous bacteria enhanced degradation of both high (20 mu g/ml) and low (26 ng/ml) concentrations of PNP, suggesting that indigenous bacteria are more suitable for inoculation in the tropical environment of Puerto Rico. In this report we characterized three indigenous strains (Corynebacterium sp. strain Z-2, Pseudomonas putida strain GS, Acinetobacter sp. strain BR-1) capable of enhancing degradation of PNP in industrial wastewater. The three indigenous bacteria, however, were different from each other in their response to substrate concentration as well as in their rate and extent of PNP degradation.