An enhancement strategy for the biodegradation of high-concentration aliphatic nitriles: Utilizing the glucose-mediated carbon catabolite repression mechanism

Wastewater containing high concentrations of nitriles, if discharged without an appropriate nonhazardous disposal strategy, will cause serious environmental pollution. During secondary sewage biological treatment, most existing bacteria cannot endure high-concentration nitriles due to poor tolerance and low degradation ability. The Rhodococcus rhodochrous strain BX2 screened by our laboratory shows high resistance to nitriles and can efficiently degrade these compounds. Compared with sole high-concentration nitriles present in the biodegradation process, the addition of glucose at a suitable concentration can effectively increase the biomass of BX2, promote the expression of nitrile-degrading enzyme genes, improve the activities of these enzymes and enhance the pollutant removal efficiency via carbon catabolite repression (CCR) mechanisms. Whole-genome sequencing revealed that the four key regulators of CCR identified in gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria are concomitant in BX2. This study provides an economically feasible strategy for the microbial remediation of high-concentration nitriles and other organic pollutants.