Biodegradation of Dimethyl Phthalate, Diethyl Phthalate, Dibutyl Phthalate and Their Mixture by VariovoraxSp

Biodegradation of dimethyl phthalate (DMP), diethyl phthalate (DEP) and dibutyl phthalate (DBP) and their mixture by a bacterial strain is reported. The strain was isolated by enrichment technique from garbage dumped soil nearby Indian Institute of Technology Bombay. The isolate had the ability to utilize mixture of DMP, DEP and DBP in the growth medium as well as the individual phthalate esters as the sole source of carbon and energy. The bacterial isolate was identified as Variovorax sp. based on 16S r-DNA sequence analysis. Variovorax sp. degraded >99% of 300 mg/l of DMP, DEP, DBP or a mixture containing 100 mg/l of each within 30 h.