Bioremediation of endocrine disruptor di-n-butyl phthalate ester by Deinococcus radiodurans and Pseudomonas stutzeri

Di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP) is a group of phthalate esters (PAEs) that are widely used in cosmetics, perfumes, and plasticizers. Due to its high production and application figures, DBP is commonly found in wastewater, sewage sludge, and aquatic environments. It has been classified as suspected endocrine disruptors by most countries. In this study, we isolated two DBP degradable strains from activated sludge. The strains were identified with their 16S rRNA as Deinococcus radiodurans and Pseudomonas stutzeri. We constructed the optimal condition of DBP degradation by using different kinds of incubation factors such as temperature, initial pH, yeast extract and surfactants. The optimal conditions of DBP degradation for these two strains are: 30 °C, pH 7.5 and static culture. Besides, addition of 0.23 mM of Triton X-100 could enhance the DBP degradation for D. radiodurans. In the end, we amended these two strains into the origin activated sludge and analyzed the whole microbial community structure of mixed cultures by PCR-DGGE technique. The result showed that only D. radiodurans could survive in the activated sludge after 7 d of incubation. Based on this work, we hope that these findings could provide some useful information for applying the bioremediation of DBP in our environment.