Abstract: Bacterium strain EVA17 was isolated from an oil-contaminated soil,
and identified as Sphingononas sp.based on analysis of 16S rDNA sequence,
cellular fatty acid composition and physiological-chemical tests. The
salicylate hydroxylase and catechol 2, 3-dioxygenase (C23O) were detected in
cell-free lysates, suggesting a pathway for phenanthrene catabolism via
salicylate and catechol. Alignment showed that both of the C23O and GST genes
of the strain EVA17 had high similarity with homologues of strains from genus
Sphingomonas. The phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rDNA and C23O gene
sequence indicated that EVA17 should be classified into genus Sphingomonas,
although the two phylogenetic trees were slightly different from each other.
The results of coamplification and sequence determination indicated that GST
gene should be located upstream of the C23O gene.