Characterisation of a novel aerobic nicotine-biodegrading strain ofPseudomonas putida

An aerobic bacterial strain J5 capable of effectively degrading nicotine was isolated from the rhizosphere of tobacco in Yunnan, China. This strain was identified asPseudomonas putida based on morphology, physiological characteristics, and 16S rDNA sequence analysis. The optimum nicotine concentration for the growth of strain J5 was 2.0 g/l. There was no more nicotine detected in the medium containing 3.0 g of nicotine/l after J5 growth for 24 h and less than 0.2% of the nicotine in a medium containing 4.0 g of nicotine/l after J5 growth for 48 h. There was a statistically significant linear relationship between nicotine degradation and biomass of strain J5. When a J5 cell suspension (108 CFU/ml) was applied to tobacco leaves, the nicotine concentration was decreased by 11.7%. These data suggest that the novel strain J5 ofP. putida may be useful for nicotine biodegradation.