| Title | Biodegradation of C5-C8 Fatty Acids and Production of Aroma Volatiles by Myroides sp. ZB35 Isolated from Activated Sludge |
|---|---|
| Author | Zijun Xiao 1, Xiankun Zhu 1, Lijun Xi 1, Xiaoyuan Hou 1, Li Fang 2, and Jian R. Lu 3 |
| Address | 1Centre for Bioengineering and Biotechnology, China University of Petroleum, Qingdao 266580, P.R. China, 2Liaohe Petrochemical Co., PetroChina Co., Ltd., Panjin 124022, P.R. China, 3Biological Physics Laboratory, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK |
| Bibliography | Journal of Microbiology, 52(5),407-412, 2014, |
| DOI | DOI 10.1007/s12275-014-4109-x |
| Key Words | Myroides, biodegradation, C5-C8 fatty acids, aroma esters, pathway |
| Abstract | In the effluents of a biologically treated wastewater from a heavy oil-refining plant, C5-C8 fatty acids including penta-noic acid, hexanoic acid, heptanoic acid, octanoic acid, and 2-methylbutanoic acid are often detected. As these residual fatty acids can cause further air and water pollution, a new Myroides isolate ZB35 from activated sludge was explored to degrade these C5-C8 fatty acids in this study. It was found that the biodegradation process involved a lag phase that became prolonged with increasing acyl chain length when the fatty acids were individually fed to this strain. However, when fed as a mixture, the ones with longer acyl chains were found to become more quickly assimilated. The branched 2- methylbutanoic acid was always the last one to be depleted among the five fatty acids under both conditions. Metabolite analysis revealed one possible origin of short chain fatty acids in the biologically treated wastewater. Aroma volatiles inclu-ding 2-methylbutyl isovalerate, isoamyl 2-methylbutanoate, isoamyl isovalerate, and 2-methylbutyl 2-methylbutanoate were subsequently identified from ZB35 extracts, linking the source of the fruity odor to these esters excreted by Myroides species. To our best knowledge, this is the first finding of these aroma esters in bacteria. From a biotechnological viewpoint, this study has revealed the potential of Myroides species as a promising source of aroma esters attractive for food and fragrance industries. |