Biodegradation characteristics and bioaugmentation potential of a novel quinoline-degrading strain of Bacillus sp. isolated from petroleum-contaminated soil

► We isolated a novel strain which could utilize quinoline as the sole carbon, nitrogen and energy source. ► The strain was identified as Bacillus sp. by 16S rDNA sequence. ► We investigated the intermediates during the biodegradation by GC/MS analysis and the proposed metabolic pathway was given. ► We designed a A/O system to study the bioaugmentation potential of the strain in quinoline-containing refinery wastewater.