A native, highly efficient microcystin-LR (MC-LR)-degrading bacterium named a7 was isolated from Lake Taihu and identified as Sphingopyxis sp. by 16S rDNA sequence analysis. The strain a7 could totally degrade MC-LR at a rate of 3.33 mg/(L•h), as detected by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The mlrA, mlrC, and mlrD genes were detected in the strain a7 by sequence analysis. Tetrapeptide and Adda-which are the middle metabolites of MC-LR-were analyzed via liquid chromatography time-of-flight mass spectrometry (LC-TOF-MS) during degradation. These metabolites were degraded completely, which suggested that the native Sphingopyxis sp. a7 was highly efficient in MC-LR degradation under bench conditions. Thus, strain a7 exhibited a significant potential application for bioremediation in water bodies contaminated by MC-LR produced by harmful cyanobacterial blooms.
Keywords: Lake Taihu; Sphingopyxis sp.; biodegradation; microcystin.