Isolation and Characterization of 2-Methyl-4-Chlorophenoxyacetic Acid-Degrading Bacteria from Agricultural Soils

Seven numerically dominant 2-methyl-4-chlorophenoxyacetic acid (MCPA)-degrading bacteria were isolated from agricultural soils. The isolates utilized the herbicide MCPA as a sole carbon source, producing significant biomass in MCPA mineral medium. They exhibited diverse herbicide degradation capabilities, but most of them grew very slowly in mineral medium containing herbicide. The chromosomal DNA patterns of the isolates obtained by polymerase chain reaction amplification of repetitive extragenic palindromic sequences were distinct from each other. One isolate, SH3, which was identified as Sphingomonas species by fatty acid methyl ester analysis, was able to degrade 5 different phenoxyacetic acid herbicides within 4 days. This strain contains two plasmids, and the smaller one has a crucial role in herbicide degradation. MCPA treated into agricultural soils without indigenous MCPA-degraders persisted for a long time, but the application of the isolate SH3 resulted in rapid decline of MCPA concentration in the soil.