Isolation and characterization of a high-efficiency erythromycin A-degrading Ochrobactrum sp. strain

In this work, Erythromycin A(EA)- degrading bacteria was isolated from the contaminated soil obtained from a pharmaceutical factory in China. The isolate designated as strain WX-J1 was identified as Ochrobactrum sp. by sequence analysis of its 16S rDNA gene. It can grow in a medium containing EA as the sole source of carbon and its optimal growth pH and temperature were 6.5 and 32 °C, respectively. Under these conditions, when the initial Erythromycin A concentration was 100 mg·L− 1, 97% of Erythromycin A has been degraded. HPLC-MS analyses indicated that Erythromycin A degradation produced intermediates contained the following three substances: 3-depyranosyloxy erythromycin A, 7,12-dyhydroxy-6-deoxyerythronolide B, 6-deoxyerythronolide B and propionaldehyde. Since Erythromycin A-degrading Ochrobactrum sp. strain rapidly degraded Erythromycin A, this strain might be useful for bioremediation purposes.