Full Length Research Paper

Isolation and characterization of Arthrobacter sp. HW08 capable of biodegrading swainsonine

Yan Wang, Yanchun Hu, Jianhua Wang*, Yongtao Yu, Yumin Song, Guodong Yang

and Guoxia Geng

Department of Internal Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University, Shaanxi, China.

*Corresponding author. E-mail: wangjh1948@yahoo.com.cn.

Tel: +8602987091850. Fax: +8602987091850

Accepted 21 July, 2010

Abstract

The aim of this study was to isolate bacteria capable of degrading swainsonine, an indolizidine alkaloid in poisonous plants of Oxytropis and Astragalus. The bacterium HW08 was isolated and enriched from soil and its physiological and biochemical properties, 16S rRNA gene and the ability of swainsonine-degradation were investigated. The results showed that HW08 was a species of Arthrobacter sp. Under the optimized temperature (30°C) and pH value (7.0), HW08 (OD₆₀₀ = 0.3) could degrade about 2 mg swainsonine in 5 ml degrading reaction within 4 h. In conclusion, HW08 would be a better potential candidate to be considered for SW-degrading in practice.

Key words: Locoweeds, Arthrobacter; swainsonine, biodegradation.