A bacterium capable of degrading microcystin (MC), strain CH, was isolated from the sediment of Lake Chaohu, China. Strain CH was tentatively identified as Paucibacter sp. based on the analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences. Paucibacter sp. strain CH can use microcystin LR (MCLR) as the sole carbon and energy sources, and 11.6 microg x mL(-1) of MCLR was degraded to below the detection limit within 10 hours with the first-order reaction rate constant of 0.242 h(-1). The optimum temperature and initial pH for MC degradation were 25-30 degrees C and pH 6-9, respectively. A novel intermediate product containing the Adda residue was detected during the degradation of MCLR, which is different from those produced by strain ACM-3962, and Adda was recognized as the final product of the degradation process. Furthermore, no homologue to any of the four genes, mlrA, mlrB, mlrC and mlrD previously associated with the degradation of MCLR by strain ACM-3962 was found in strain CH. These findings suggest that Paucibacter sp. strain CH mighe degrade MC through a different pathway from that of strain ACM-3962.