Isolation and growth characteristics of an EDTA-degrading member of the α-subclass of Proteobacteria

A Gram-negative, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA)-degrading bacterium (deposited at the German Culture Collection as strain DSM 9103) utilising EDTA as the only source of carbon, energy and nitrogen was isolated from a mixed EDTA-degrading population that was originally enriched in a column system from a mixture of activated sludge and soil. Chemotaxonomic analysis of quinones, polar lipids and fatty acids allowed allocation of the isolate to the a-subclass of Proteobacteria. 16S rDNA sequencing and phylogenetic analysis revealed highest similarity to the Mesorhizobium genus followed by the Aminobacter genus. However, the EDTA-degrading strain apparently forms a new branch within the Phyllobacteriaceae/ Mesorhizobia family. Growth of the strain was rather slow not only on EDTA (mu(max) = 0.05 h(-1)) but also on other substrates. Classical substrate utilisation testing in batch culture suggested a quite restricted carbon source spectrum with only lactate, glutamate, and complexing agents chemically related to EDTA (nitrilotriacetate, iminodiacetate and ethylenediaminedisuccinate) supporting growth. However, when EDTA-limited continuous cultures of strain DSM 9103 were pulsed with fumarate, succinate, glucose or acetate, these substrates were assimilated immediately. Apparently, the strain can use a broader spectrum than indicated by traditional substrate testing techniques. The EDTA species CaEDTA and MgEDTA served as growth substrates of the strain because in the mineral medium employed EDTA was predicted to be mainly present in the form of these two complexes. The bacterium was not able to degrade Fe3+-complexed EDTA.