Nocardia fodinahabitans sp. nov. isolated from underground hard coal mine waters shows biotechnological potential for degradation of aromatic hydrocarbons

Abstract The aim of the study was to describe and evaluate the biotechnological potential of a novel species of Nocardia isolated from underground coal mine water. Nocardia strains represent important human pathogens, but are also common in soil and water environments. Recently, they have gained attention for their biosynthetic potential and vast metabolic abilities to degrade aromatic compounds, including xenobiotics. In this work, we established the taxonomic status of strain MW-W600-9 T . Phylogenetic analysis based on 16 S rRNA gene and whole genome sequencing revealed close relatedness to Nocardia rhizosphaerihabitans and Nocardia asteroides . This is further supported by phenotyping tests, chemotaxonomic analyses and MALDI-ToF profiling. We therefore propose that strain MW-W600-9 T (= DSM 120649 T =PCM 3565 T ) constitutes a new species, Nocardia fodinahabitans sp. nov. The strain has 31 putative biosynthetic gene clusters, 12 showing low or no similarity to the clusters of known compounds, indicating its potential to produce novel bioactive compounds. The strain MW-W600-9 T shows degradation potential of aromatic xenobiotics, tested for haloorganic compounds and bisphenols. The concentration of 4-chlorophenol and bisphenol A was decreasing significantly during the strain culture, and the results suggest co-metabolic removal of iohexol. This work shows the biodegradation ability of aromatic xenobiotic compounds by a new species of Nocardia , highlighting the potential use of the strain in bioremediation applications. It also shows for the first time the degradation of bisphenol by a member of the Nocardia genus, along with potential co-metabolic degradation of environmentally persistent haloorganic compounds.