ABSTRACT
An enrichment culture technique was used to isolate bacterial strains responsible for the biodegradation of profenofos in a soil from Hubei province of central China. Two pure bacterial cultures, named W and Y, were isolated and subsequently characterized by sequencing of 16S rRNA genes and biochemical tests. Isolate W showed 96 percent similarity to the 16S rRNA gene of a Pseudomonas putida unlike Y which showed 99 percent similarity to the 16S rRNA gene of Burkholderia gladioli. Both strains grew well at pH 5.5-7.2 with a broad temperature profile ranging from 28º to 36 ºC. Bioremediation of profenofos-contaminated soil was examined using soil treated with 200 ug g-1; profenofos resulted in a higher degradation rate than control soils without inoculation. In a mineral salt medium (FTW) reduction in profenofos concentration was 90 percent within 96 hours of incubation. A literature survey revealed that no data is available regarding the role of Burkholderia gladioli on pesticide biodegradation as well as on profenofos.