Pseudonocardia chloroethenivorans sp nov., a chloroethene-degrading actinomycete

A bacterial strain, SL-1(T), capable of degrading trichloroethene was isolated from a laboratory enrichment in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Washington, USA. The material in the enrichments was derived from a soil sample from Seattle, WA, USA. Strain SL-1(T) was capable of using phenol as a source of carbon and energy. Chemotaxonomic, morphological, physiological and phylogenetic analyses showed that strain SL-1(T) is a member of the genus Pseudonocardia. The ability of strain SL-1(T) to utilize phenol and degrade trichloroethene, as well as other phenotypic properties and the results from a 16S rRNA phylogenetic analysis, led to the proposal of a novel species, Pseudonocardia chloroethenivorans sp. nov. The type strain is SL-1(T) (= ATCC BAA-742(T) = DSM 44698(T)). Trichloroethene and other chloroethenes are major pollutants at many environmental sites, and P. chloroethenivorans has biodegradation properties that should be of interest to environmental microbiologists and engineers.