Members of the genus Mycobacterium have been proposed for use in the application of bioremediation processes since they can degrade a wide range of environmentally toxic chemicals, including high-molecular-weight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) Brezna, et al., 2003.   M. flavescens PYR-GCK (ATCC 700033) was isolated in the sediment from the Grand Calumet River in northwestern Indiana for its ability to degrade the four-benzene-ring aromatic hydrocarbon, pyrene, as a sole source of carbon and energy.   Strain PYR GCK which has been previously reported as M. flavescens , based on biochemical and fatty acid profiles, (Ross and Cerniglia 1996) was reclassified a Mycobacterium gilvum , according to the similarity in the 16S rDNA sequence with M. gilvum ATCC 43909 (100%) Kim et al, 2005. The genome sequence of M. gilvum PYR-GCK will allowed us to begin to understand the PAH degradation pathway.

References

Brezna, B., A. Khan, and C. E. Ceniglia. 2003. Molecular characterization of dioxygenases from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon-degrading Mycobacterium spp. FEMS Microbiology Lett. 223:177-183.

Dean-Ross, D. and C. E. Cerniglia. 1996. Degradation of pyrene by Mycobacterium flavescens. Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 46:307-312.

Kim, Y.-H., Engesser, K-H., and Cerniglia, C.E. 2005.   Numerical and ribosomal RNA gene sequence analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrobarbon-degrading mycobacteria.   Microbiol. Ecology. 50:110-119.