Isolation, identification and characteristics of a dimethoate-degrading bacterium L3.

A bacterial strain,L3,capable of utilizing dimethoate as sole carbon source was isolated from activated sludge collected from wastewater-treating system of a pesticide manufacturer.This bacterium was identified as Paracoccus sp.according to its physiological and biochemical analysis and the analysis of its 16S rRNA sequence(GenBank Accession No.EU004590).This bacterium could degrade 100mg/ L dimethoate to an undetectable level in 6h.The optimal pH and temperature for the degradation were 7 and 35℃,respectively.Meanwhile,strain L3 also worked well in soil,which could degrade 250 mg/kg dimethoate to an undetectable level in 3 days.