Biodegradation of nitrobenzene in a lysogeny broth medium by a novel halophilic bacterium Bacillus licheniformis

•Bacillus licheniformis strain YX2 is a novel nitrobenzene-degrading bacterium.•Strain YX2 can endure highly acidic and alkaline conditions and extreme temperatures.•Strain YX2 efficiently degrades high concentrations of nitrobenzene.•Strain YX2 was tolerant to high salinity.•Strain YX2 biodegrades nitrobenzene as a mixed compound.

The Bacillus licheniformis strain YX2, a novel nitrobenzene-degrading halophilic bacterium, was isolated from active sludge obtained from a pesticide factory. Strain YX2 can withstand highly acidic and alkaline conditions and high temperatures. Degradation of nitrobenzene (200 mg L−1) by YX2 exceeded 70% after 72 h in lysogeny broth medium (pH 4-9). Under optimal degradation conditions (33 °C, pH 7 in LB medium) YX2 degraded 50, 100, 200, and 600 mg L−1 nitrobenzene within 36, 36, 72, and 156 h, respectively. Even in the presence of benzene, phenol or aniline, strain YX2 efficiently degraded nitrobenzene. Furthermore, strain YX2 completely degraded 600 mg L−1 nitrobenzene in 7% NaCl (w/w). Thus, our data show that strain YX2 may have promise for removing nitrobenzene from complex wastewaters with high salinity and variable pH.