Pyrene degradation by Mycobacterium sp. strain KR2

A Mycohacterium sp., strain KR2 which was able to utilise pyrene as sole source of carbon and energy was isolated from a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) contaminated soil originating from the area of a former gaswork plant. The isolate metabolised up to 60 % of the pyrene added (0.5 mg/mL) within 8 days at 20 °C. Cis-4,5-pyrene dihydrodiol, 4,5-phenanthrene dicarboxylic acid, 1-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid, 2-carboxybenzaldehyde, phthalic acid, and protocatechuic acid were identified as degradation products. Based on these findings a degradation pathway for pyrene is suggested which is in good accordance with the data published so far on bacterial pyrene metabolism.