Characterization and mechanism analysis of penicillin G biodegradation with Klebsiella pneumoniae Z1 isolated from waste penicillin bacterial residue

• Six strains were isolated from the waste penicillin bacterial residue, and strain Klebsiella pneumoniae Z-1 was demonstrated as the more efficient one.
• Identification of strain Z-1 was done using SEM, AEM and 16S rDNA.
• PENG biodegradation intermediates were identified by HPLC, simple energy calculation and LC-MS/MS.
• The mechanism analysis of the biodegradation of PENG by Klebsiella pneumoniae Z-1 was proposed and confirmed in detail.

In this study, a strain Z-1 has been isolated from penicillin bacterial residue. The physicochemical properties and molecular phylogenetic analysis of the strain were characterized by atomic force microscope (AFM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) and 16SrDNA, indicating the strain belongs to genus Klebsiella pneumoniae. Furthermore, the biodegradation process of PENG was investigated with 99.99% degradation efficiency. Afterwards, high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and LC-MS/MS analysis were performed to identify its degradation products. Moreover, the possible mechanism was proposed and confirmed in detail. These results suggest Klebsiella pneumoniae Z1 become a promising alternative for improving penicillin removal from environment.