Growth of a bacterial consortium on triclosan

Triclosan is a polychlorinated hydroxy diphenylether that has been widely u sed as an antimicrobial compound. An enrichment using triclosan as a sole s ource of carbon and energy yielded a consortium of bacteria capable of grow ing on this compound. The dichloro ring was partially mineralized, resultin g in the conversion of approximately 35% of the [C-14]triclosan to [C-14]CO 2. Use of molecular Fingerprinting: techniques and 16S rDNA cloning and seq uencing aided in the identification and eventual isolation of an auxotrophi c Sphingomonas-like organism, strain Rdl, which was able to partially miner alize triclosan when grown on complex media. (C) 2001 Federation of Europea n Microbiological Societies. Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.