ARTICLE IN PRESS

International Biodeterioration & Biodegradation 59 (2007) 148–155

www.elsevier.com/locate/ibiod

Lindane uptake and degradation by aquatic Streptomyces sp. strain M7

C.S. Benimelia, G.R. Castroa, A.P. Chailec, M.J. Amorosoa,b,
a
PROIMI-CONICET, Av. Belgrano y Caseros, 4000 Tucumán, Argentina
b
Instituto de Microbiologı´a, Facultad de Bioquı´mica, Quı´mica y Farmacia, Universidad Nacional de Tucumán, Ayacucho 491, 4000 Tucumán, Argentina
c
SAT, Av. Sarmiento 991, 4000 Tucumán, Argentina
Received 2 May 2006; received in revised form 17 May 2006; accepted 10 July 2006
Available online 28 November 2006

Abstract

Five actinomycete strains isolated from pesticide-contaminated sediments were able to grow in the presence of 10 mg l1 lindane, an
organochlorine pesticide. The strain growing best in the presence of lindane as the only carbon source was identified as Streptomyces sp.
M7. After 96 h of incubation in synthetic medium containing lindane and glucose, both substrates were simultaneously consumed;
glucose 6.0 g l1 improved lindane degradation and obtained biomass. When Streptomyces sp. M7 was cultured in presence of lindane
plus glucose, the disappearance of the pesticide from the medium and the lindane degradation was observed after 72 h of incubation. This
is the first report of lindane degradation without intracellular accumulation or biotransformation products of lindane using Streptomyces
sp. under aerobic conditions.
Relevance to industry: This is the first report of lindane removal without intracellular accumulation or biotransformation products of
lindane using Streptomyces sp. strain M7, an actinomycete isolated from pesticide-contaminated sediments from Tucuman, Argentina.
r 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Streptomyces; Lindane; g-hexachlorocyclohexane; Degradation; Bioremediation

1. Introduction a lipophilic compound, and therefore tends to accumulate

and concentrate in the body fat of man (Johri et al., 2000).
Lindane, or g-hexachlorocyclohexane (g-HCH), has been Since the toxicity of g-HCH is well established, it is
extensively used worldwide for the control of agricultural imperative to develop methods by which lindane can be
and medical pests. Due to widespread use and persistence, removed from the environment and to search for new
it is a common pollutant found ubiquitous in the biosphere bioremediation agents for these compounds (Singh and
(Zuloaga et al., 2000; Okeke et al., 2002). This insecticide is Kuhad, 1999).
known for its tendency to bioaccumulate and its toxicity to There have been some reports regarding aerobic
non-target organisms, including humans. (De Cruz et al., degradation of g-HCH by Gram-negative bacteria like
1996; Johri et al,. 1996). The low aqueous solubility and Sphingomonas (Singh et al., 1999) and by the white-rot
chlorinated nature of lindane contribute to its persistence fungi Trametes hirsutus, Phanerochaete chrysosporium,
and resistance to degradation by microorganisms (Phillips Cyathus bulleri and Phanerochaete sordida (Mougin et al.,
et al., 2001). There have been reports on the occurrence of 1999; Singh and Kuhad, 1999, 2000). However, little
g-HCH residues in soil, water, air, plants, agricultural information is available on the ability of organochlorine
products, animals, food, microbial environment, and pesticide biotransformation by Gram-positive microorgan-
humans (Albanis et al., 1998; Hura et al., 1999; Chaile et isms and particularly by actinomycete species, the main
al., 1999; Waite et al., 2001; Botella et al., 2004). g-HCH is group of bacteria present in soils and sediments (De
Schrijver and De Mot, 1999). These Gram-positive
Corresponding author. PROIMI-CONICET, Av. Belgrano y Caseros, microorganisms have a great potential for biodegradation
4000 Tucumán, Argentina. Tel.: +54 381 4344888; fax: +54 381 4344887. of organic and inorganic toxic compounds, and also could
E-mail address: mjamoroso@ciudad.com.ar (M.J. Amoroso). remove different organochlorine pesticides when other

0964-8305/$ - see front matter r 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.ibiod.2006.07.014
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
C.S. Benimeli et al. / International Biodeterioration & Biodegradation 59 (2007) 148–155 149

carbon sources are present in the medium as energy source autoclaved medium to a final concentration of 10 mg l1. All cultures were
incubated on a rotatory shaker (100 rpm) at 30 1C, for 72 h. Supernatant
(Amoroso et al., 1998; Ravel et al., 1998; Benimeli et al.,
samples of centrifuged cultures (9900  g, 30 min, 4 1C) were used to
2003). However, the ability of actinomycetes to transform determine residual lindane by gas chromatography. Biomass was
organochlorine pesticides has not been widely investigated, estimated after centrifugation by washing the pellets with 25 mM Tris-
despite studies demonstrating that actinomycetes, specifi- EDTA buffer (pH 8.0) and drying to constant weight at 105 1C.
cally of the genus Streptomyces, have been able to oxidize,
partially dechlorinate and dealkylate aldrin, DDT and 2.3. Lindane analysis by gas chromatography
herbicides like metolachlor or atrazine (Ferguson and
Korte, 1977; Liu et al., 1990, 1991; Radosevich et al., Lindane in cell-free supernatant samples (9900  g, 30 min, at 4 1C)
1995). were extracted by solid phase extraction (SPE) using C18 columns, and
was quantified in a gas chromatograph (Hewlett-Packard 6890, Wilming-
The use of indigenous actinomycete strains for bioreme-
ton, DE) equipped with a HP 5 capillary column (30 m  0.53 mm 
diation of soils is an attractive approach, since these 0.35 m) and 63Ni ECD detector, split/splitless injector HP 7694 and
microorganisms are already adapted to the habitat. In ChemStation Vectra XM software. Quantitative analysis of samples was
addition to their potential metabolic diversity, strains of performed using appropriate lindane calibration standards (ULTRA-
Streptomyces may be well suited for soil inoculation as a Scientific, North Kingstown, RI).
consequence of their mycelial growth habit, relatively rapid
rates of growth, colonization of semi-selective substrates 2.4. Growth determination in presence of lindane in five selected
and their ability to be genetically manipulated (Shelton actinomycete strains
et al., 1996). One additional advantage is that the
vegetative hyphal mass of these microorganisms can Spore suspensions of five selected actinomycete strains, M2, M4, M5,
M7 and M14, were cultured in flasks containing 30 ml MM supplemented
differentiate into spores that assist in spread and persis-
with lindane 10 mg l1, on a rotatory shaker (100 rpm) at 30 1C, for 96 h.
tence; the spores are a semi-dormant stage in the cycle life Samples were taken each 24 h and centrifuged (9900  g, 10 min). Biomass
that can survive in soil for long periods (Mayfield et al., was determined as mentioned before. Control cultures in MM without
1972; Ensign, 1978) and impart resistance to low nutrient added lindane were done.
concentrations and water availability (Karagouni et al.,
1993). 2.5. 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) sequencing
Presence of lindane (2.0 mg l1), methoxychlor (1.3 mg l1),
aldrin and dieldrin (which did not exceed 0.03 mg l1) were Total DNA was prepared from strain M7 according to the method
detected in the main hydrographic system of the Tucumán described by Hoffman and Winston (1987). Oligonucleotide primers with
specificity for eubacterial 16S rRNA genes (forward primer 8–27: 50 -AGA
state, the Salı́ river (Chaile et al., 1999). In order to
GTT TGA TCC TGG CTC AG-30 , Weisburg et al., 1991, and reverse
establish a strategy for bioremediation, samples of river primer 1389: 50 -ACG GGC GGT GTG TAC AAG- 30 , Marchesi et al.,
sediments and from other local sources were collected to 1998) were used to amplify 16S rDNA. PCR fragments were purified using
isolate and select wild-type streptomycete strains with the Qiaquick Gel Extraction Kit (Qiagen, Valencia, CA) and sequenced using
ability to tolerate and remove organochlorine pesticides the PRIMS READY reaction Kit (PE Applied BioSystems, Foster City,
CA) and an ABI 373A sequencer (PE Applied BioSystems, Foster City,
(Benimeli et al., 2003). Continuing with the previous study,
CA).
the aim of the present work is to select actinomycete strains Sequencing data were analyzed by comparison to 16S rRNA genes in
with high capability of lindane degradation in liquid the Ribosomal Database Project and EMBL-GeneBank databases, and
cultures and to study the effect of glucose on pesticide aligned manually with the Phydit software (Chun, 1985). The 16S rRNA
detoxification. gene sequence of strain M7 had been deposited in GeneBank under
accession number AY459531.
An evolutionary tree was constructed using the neighbor-joining Fitch-
2. Materials and methods Margoliash (1967) algorithm in the PHYLIP package (Felsenstein, 1993).
Evolutionary distances matrices for the Fitch-Margoliash method were
2.1. Microorganisms and culture conditions generated as described by Jukes and Cantor (1969). The resultant tree
topologies were evaluated by performing bootstrap analyses of the
Twenty-two actinomycete strains isolated from wastewater sediment neighbor-joining data (Felsenstein, 1985) based on 40,000 resamplings.
samples of a copper filter plant (contaminated site), and six from El
Cadillal Lake (non-contaminated site) previously tested on the basis of its 2.6. Precultivation in lindane or glucose effect on the capacity of
multiple tolerance to 11 organochlorine pesticides (Benimeli et al., 2003)
Streptomyces M7 to remove lindane
were selected for the present work.

Streptomyces sp. M7 was precultured in MM containing lindane

2.2. Screening of actinomycete strains for the capacity to grow in (10 mg l1) or glucose (6 g l1) for 72 h. Cultivation was carried out in
the presence of lindane Erlenmeyer flasks containing 150 ml medium, at 30 1C on a rotatory
shaker (100 rpm). Cells were centrifuged at 9900  g for 10 min, washed
Spore suspension of the 28 actinomycete strains were inoculated in a with 25 mM Tris-EDTA buffer (pH 8.0), and then inoculated in MM
liquid minimal medium (MM), containing (grams per liter): L-asparagine, supplemented with lindane (10 mg l1), or lindane (10 mg l1) plus glucose
0.5; K2HPO4, 0.5; MgSO4  7H2O, 0.20; FeSO4  7H2O, 0.01 (Hopwood, (6 g l1), and cultivated for 96 h. Biomass and residual lindane were
1967). Lindane (ULTRAScientific, North Kingstown, RI) was dissolved in analyzed in samples every 24 h. To evaluate the effect of glucose
methanol (HPLC grade, Merck, Argentina), sterilized by passing through concentration similar experiments were carried out in MM supplemented
a 0.22 mm pore size Millipore filter and then added aseptically to the with 0.6 g l1 of glucose.
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
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2.7. Intracellular lindane determination Table 1

Selection of five actinomycete strains with capacity to grow in the presence
Lindane uptake and its intracellular accumulation by Streptomyces M7 of lindane 10 mg l1
were analyzed after preculturing in lindane or glucose. The precultured
cells were centrifuged at 9900  g for 10 min and washed in 25 mM Tris- Strains Dry weight Residual Residual
EDTA buffer (pH 8.0), before inoculation in MM supplemented with (mg ml1) lindane lindane/dry
lindane (10 mg l1) and glucose (6 g l1). The microorganisms were (mg l1) weight
cultivated on a rotatory shaker (100 rpm) at 30 1C, for 96 h. Samples
were taken every 24 h, filtered and washed with ethyl acetate and distilled M2 0.59 1.33 2.25  106
water to remove lindane that is strongly bound. The presence of lindane in M4 0.45 2.60 5.77  106
M5 0.38 2.00 5.26  106
the mycelium was checked by extraction of mycelial material with ethyl
acetate and determined by gas chromatography (Singh and Kuhad, 1999; M7 0.35 1.20 3.43  106
Benimeli et al., 2004). M14 0.48 3.29 6.85  106

Residual lindane average: 4.60 mg l1.

2.8. Statistical analysis

Each experiment was done in triplicate and the results are arithmetic
means. For statistical evaluation, Student’s t-test and One-way ANOVA had minimal ratios between residual lindane concentration
for the analysis of variance were used. and microbial growth.
The actinomycetes isolated from the contaminated
3. Results and discussion samples showed efficient growth with lindane as the only
carbon source, indicating that these microorganisms
3.1. Screening of actinomycete strains for the capacity to could survive in the contaminated environments either
grow in the presence of lindane due to the tolerance to the pesticides or due to their ability
to degrade them. It is important to notice that these
In a study of the water quality of Salı́ River (Tucumán, actinomycete strains were not able to grow in MM
Argentina), which flows parallel of the wastewater of a containing L-asparagine as a sole carbon source (Benimeli
copper filter plant (contaminated site), presence of et al., 2003). On the other hand, there was no evidence of
0.2–2.0 mg l1 of lindane was detected (Chaile et al., microbial growth in control cultures in MM without added
1999). On the other hand, in sediment samples of this lindane.
contaminated site, 90–97 mg l1 of lindane was measured For the five selected strains, a time course of growth in
(Benimeli, 2004). According to these results, a 10 mg l1 presence of lindane as the only carbon source, was
lindane concentration was selected in order to select performed (Fig. 1). Strain M7 showed the best growth
actinomycete strains with the ability to grow in the during the 96 h of incubation in presence of lindane. At
presence of the pesticide. 24 h of incubation, M7 reached twice the growth of strains
Twenty-eight pesticide tolerant wild-type actinomycete M5 and M14. Based on the growth curves of Fig. 1, strain
strains were selected to determine the capacity of growth in M7 was selected for further study.
the presence of lindane 10 mg l1 in liquid medium
(Benimeli et al., 2003). 3.2. Phylogenetic analysis of strain M7
Two criteria of analysis were established. The first
criterion was the determination of residual lindane Macroscopic and microscopic observations and chemo-
concentration, in order to establish the population taxonomic analysis of strain M7 indicated its belonging to
behavior of the studied microorganisms. Strains showing the genus Streptomyces (Benimeli et al., 2003). Using
values of residual lindane higher than the average were specific primers for PCR, 1313 bp of 16S rDNA were
eliminated from the study. The second criterion was to obtained and sequenced. Analysis of the 16S rDNA
establish the ration of residual lindane concentration and sequence confirmed the placement of this strain with the
microbial growth; the strains were selected for which these genus Streptomyces (99% homology). Streptomyces sp.
values were minimum. M7 was closely related to unidentified species of Strepto-
All actinomycete strains isolated from non-contaminated myces sp. CHR28. To our knowledge, Streptomyces tendae
sites showed comparatively high residual lindane concen- is the closest relative identified species to Streptomyces
trations and were eliminated from the study. Of the 22 sp. M7.
microorganisms isolated from contaminated sediment
samples, seven were found to leave residual lindane 3.3. The effect of precultivation in lindane or glucose on the
concentrations higher than the average value. Finally five capacity of Streptomyces M7 to remove lindane
strains, M2, M4, M5, M7 and M14, isolated from the
polluted site, were selected as the most efficient to growth Because Streptomyces M7 grew poorly when it was two
in the presence of lindane as the only carbon source successive times cultured in lindane as the only carbon
(Table 1). These microorganisms left residual lindane source, it was evaluated if the addition of glucose could
concentrations lower than the population average and improve microbial growth and lindane removal.
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
C.S. Benimeli et al. / International Biodeterioration & Biodegradation 59 (2007) 148–155 151

0.65 growth ceased, with 0.42 mg ml1 resulting biomass ob-

0.60
tained. When Streptomyces M7 grew in the presence of
glucose plus lindane after preculturing in glucose (Fig. 3b),
0.55 again both substrates were used during the first 48 h of
0.50 incubation, with 30% lindane and 100% glucose removal.
However, lindane decrease continued parallel to microbial
0.45 growth, reaching 42% removal at the end of the 96 h
Dry weight (mg ml-1)

0.40

0.35

0.30
11
0.25 0.22
10
0.20 0.20
9
0.15 0.18
8
0.10 0.16

Residual lindane (µg l-1)

Dry weight (mg ml-1)
0.05 7
0.14
0.00 6
0.12
0 20 40 60 80 100
Incubation time (h) 5
0.10
Fig. 1. Growth of five actinomycete strains in the presence of lindane 0.08 4
(10 mg l1). Strains: M2 (K); M4 (’); M5 (m); M7 (.) and M14 ( ).
Error bars represent standard deviations. 0.06 3

0.04 2

The disappearance of g-HCH was studied after pre- 0.02 1

culturing the microorganisms in media containing lindane
0.00 0
or glucose, followed by cultivation in medium supplemen- 0 20 40 60 80 100
ted only with g-HCH (10 mg l1). Growth kinetics of (a) Incubation time (h)
Streptomyces M7 in medium supplemented with lindane
as the only carbon source revealed a stationary state 11
between 24 and 48 h, followed by an increase of biomass 0.22
10
and concomitant decrease of residual lindane in the culture 0.20
(Fig. 2a). On the other hand, Streptomyces M7 growth 9
cultured first in medium containing glucose reached about 0.18
the same biomass in the first 24 h, but followed by 27% of 8
0.16

Residual lindane (µg l-1)

biomass reduction (Fig. 2b). The abrupt decrease in dry
Dry weight (mg ml-1)

7
weight after 24 h of growth is not correlated with an 0.14
increase of lindane in the supernatant, indicating that 6
lindane had previously not simply been sequestered in the 0.12
cells to be released again after cell lysis, but rather 0.10
5
degradaded during the first 24 h of growth. Residual
4
lindane concentration in the medium decreased only about 0.08
20% in the first 24 h of culture, but after 48 h kept almost 3
0.06
constant in Streptomyces M7 precultured in glucose
followed by lindane cultivation (Fig. 2b). 0.04 2
In the next experiment, the microorganism was pre-
0.02 1
cultured in medium containing lindane 10 mg l1 or alter-
natively glucose 6.0 g l1, followed by cultivation in 0.00 0
medium supplemented with both lindane and low glucose 0 20 40 60 80 100
concentration (Fig. 3). When Streptomyces M7 was (b) Incubation time (h)
precultured in lindane (Fig. 3a) simultaneous removal of
Fig. 2. Determination of growth and residual lindane in the supernatant
both substrates was observed in the first 48 h, when 50% of of a 10 mg l1 lindane-containing culture of Streptomyces M7 precultured
lindane and 100% of glucose had been removed from the in (a) lindane and (b) glucose. Dry weight (’); residual lindane
medium. Then, lindane removal as well as the microbial concentration (K). Error bars represent standard deviations.
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
152 C.S. Benimeli et al. / International Biodeterioration & Biodegradation 59 (2007) 148–155

incubation, when 0.36 g l1 biomass had been produced 20% residual lindane concentration, suggesting energy-
(Fig. 3b). dependent process for lindane uptake by the cells (Fig. 4a).
In a further experiment, Streptomyces M7 was cultured In contrast, glucose utilization after precultivation in
in the same conditions as before but with glucose 6.0 g l1 glucose, showed a kinetic associated to the cellular growth,
instead of 0.6 g l1. When the cells were precultured in while lindane disappearance remained constant (Fig. 4b).
glucose or lindane, the microbial growth and the residual After 96 h of cultivation the final concentration of residual
lindane concentration did not show significant statistical lindane remained approximately the same in both cultures,
differences (p40.05) (Fig. 4). However, the kinetic of but the rate of lindane removal was higher in the culture
glucose consumption showed different profiles in both adapted to lindane, suggesting some degree of cell
cultures. After lindane precultivation, glucose consumption metabolism adaptability to the pesticide.
almost paralleled the lindane removal. Also, residual In addition, at 96 h of cultivation, residual lindane was
lindane remained constant after glucose exhaustion at half the amount in cultures supplemented simultaneously

1.1 12 12
12 1.0
1.0
0.5 10 10
0.9
10
0.8 0.8

Residual lindane (µg l-1)

Residualglucose (g l-1)
Dry weight (mg ml-1)
0.4
Residual lindane (µg l-1)

Residual glucose (g l-1)

8 8
Dry weight (mg ml-1)

8 0.7
0.6 0.6
0.3 6 6
6 0.5

0.4 0.4
0.2 4 4
4
0.3

0.2 0.2 2 2
0.1 2
0.1

0.0 0 0
0.0 0 0.0
0 20 40 60 80 100
0 20 40 60 80 100
(a) Incubation time (h)
(a) Incubation time (h)
1.1 12 12
12 1.0
1.0
0.5
0.9 10 10
Residual lindane (µg l-1)

10
0.8
0.8
Residual lindane (µg l-1)

Residual glucose (g l-1)

0.4
Residual glucose (g l-1)

Dry weight (mg ml-1)

8 8
Dry weight (mg ml-1)

8 0.7
0.6
0.3 0.6
6 6 6
0.5
0.4
0.2 0.4
4 4 4
0.3

0.1 0.2 0.2

2 2 2
0.1

0.0 0 0.0 0.0 0 0

0 20 40 60 80 100 0 20 40 60 80 100
(b) Incubation time (h) (b) Incubation time (h)

Fig. 3. Determination of growth, residual lindane and residual glucose in Fig. 4. Determination of growth, residual lindane and residual glucose in
the supernatant of a 0.6 g l1 glucose and 10 mg l1 lindane-containing the supernatant of a 6 g l1 glucose and 10 mg l1 lindane-containing
culture of Streptomyces M7 precultured in (a) lindane and (b) glucose. Dry culture of Streptomyces M7 precultured in (a) lindane and (b) glucose. Dry
weight (’); residual lindane concentration (K); residual glucose weight (’); residual lindane concentration (K); residual glucose
concentration (m). Error bars represent standard deviations. concentration (m). Error bars represent standard deviations.
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
C.S. Benimeli et al. / International Biodeterioration & Biodegradation 59 (2007) 148–155 153

with glucose–lindane compared to cultures supplemented Table 2

with lindane only (Figs. 4a, b, 2a and b). These results Percentage of removed and degraded lindane in the culture of
Streptomyces M7, precultured in glucose (6 g l1) or lindane (10 mg l1)
suggest the importance of supplementing the culture with
an additional source of carbon/energy for lindane degrada- Incubation time (h) % Removeda % Degradedb
tion.
Analysis of Streptomyces M7 growth first adapted in Precultured in
medium containing glucose or alternatively lindane, Glucose Lindane Glucose Lindane
followed by cultivation in medium supplemented with
lindane and different concentrations of glucose (0.6 versus 24 21.671.6c 16.271.8 12.072.2 1.270.6
48 25.871.2 21.671.2 21.671.2 9.071.0
6.0 g l1) (Figs. 3 and 4) allowed the conclusion that
72 41.371.8 48.571.2 36.571.8 42.571.2
glucose and lindane were simultaneously consumed. Pre- 96 44.971.2 49.171.8 40.771.2 44.371.2
sence of high glucose concentration increased the lindane
a
removal and biomass yield. % initial lindane% residual lindane.
b
Similar results were reported for the degradation of the % removed lindane% intracellular lindane.
c
Arithmetic mean7standard deviation.
herbicide metolachlor by an actinomycete specie in the
presence of sucrose (Krause et al., 1985). Esposito et al.
(1998) reported that actinomycete strain CCT 4916 grew
poorly when glucose was omitted and diuron supplied as
were reported to perform partial degradation of lindane
carbon/nitrogen source in the culture medium. Co-meta-
(Singh and Kuhad, 2000). The advantage of Streptomyces
bolism in the presence of a carbon source occurs in
M7 thus is that it not only accumulates lindane in the
actinomycetes, and it has been shown that most pesticides
biomass, but shows high potential for degradation of the
can serve as phosphorous, carbon, and/or nitrogen source
pesticide without intermediate products, which in some
via partial transformation reactions. Based on many
cases are more toxic and refractory to further degradation
studies in different microorganisms, it can be assumed
than the original pesticides (De Schrijver and De Mot,
that co-metabolism is probably the most widespread
1999).
mechanism for pesticide degradation (De Schrijver and
In previous studies, only two Gram-negative bacteria,
De Mot, 1999).
Sphingomonas paucimobilis and Pandoraea sp., were
described as microorganisms degrading g-HCH under
3.4. Intracellular lindane determination in Streptomyces M7
aerobic conditions (Nagata et al., 1999; Siddique et al.,
precultured in lindane or glucose
2002). In addition, biodegradation of lindane by Gram-
positive microorganisms was described under anaerobic
Intracellular lindane was determined in mycelium
conditions, performed by Clostridium sp. as well as some
grown on lindane plus glucose (6 g l–1) after precultiva-
facultative anaerobic members of the Bacillaceae family
tion in lindane versus glucose (Table 2). Sample analysis by
(Jagnow et al., 1977). For the first time, the degradation of
GC revealed only a single peak, which corresponds to
lindane by Gram-positive Streptomyces sp. under aerobic
lindane, from 24 h of incubation (data not shown). This
conditions was reported.
result could indicate that no biotransformation occurs but
In conclusion, the aquatic Streptomyces M7 presents
maybe a complete degradation under the conditions
excellent potential for bioremediation of lindane-contami-
studied. Further studies with different GC conditions are
nated environments based on its ability to take up and
needed to rule out other metabolites in the g-HCH
degrade lindane from aqueous medium. Further research is
pathway.
necessary in order to elucidate the lindane biodegradation
When Streptomyces M7 was first cultivated in lindane,
pathway used by Streptomyces M7.
almost 50% lindane was removed from the medium within
72 h, compared with 41% after glucose precultivation.
However, there were no significative differences (p40.05) Acknowledgments
in lindane removal and degradation when Streptomyces
M7 was precultivated in lindane or glucose. The GC The authors gratefully acknowledge financial
analysis of mycelial biomass could show that the pesticide support of CIUNT, ANPCyT, and CONICET, Argentina.
did not accumulate inside the microbial cell to significant We thank Sr. Guillermo Borchia for his technical
amounts, and lindane was degraded gradually during 96 h assistance.
of incubation.
On the contrary, Phaneroachaete chrysosporium and References
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