• Journal of Life Science
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.700-705
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• 2011

Using enrichment procedures, we isolated organic solvent-tolerant Bacillus sp. BCNU 5005 from waste water and soil in the Ulsan industrial plant region. BCNU 5005 had a maximum similarity of 98% with B. subtilis and was designated as B. subtilis based on phylogenetic analyses using 16S rDNA sequences. Generally, most bacteria and their enzymes are destroyed or inactivated in the presence of high concentrations of organic solvents. However, the lipase activity of B. subtilis BCNU 5005 was very stable in the presence of various kinds of solvents (25%, v/v) except chloroform, ethylbenzene and decane. Furthermore, BCNU 5005 was determined to have a degradative ability towards organic solvents. This organic solvent tolerant Bacillus sp. BCNU 5005 could be used as a new potential resource for biotransformation and bioremediation.