Isolation, plant colonization potential, and phenanthrene degradation performance of the endophytic bacterium Pseudomonas sp. Ph6-gfp

This investigation provides a novel method of endophyte-aided removal of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from plant bodies. A phenanthrene-degrading endophytic bacterium Pseudomonas sp. Ph6 was isolated from clover (Trifolium pratense L.) grown in a PAH-contaminated site. After being marked with the GFP gene, the colonization and distribution of strain Ph6-gfp was directly visualized in plant roots, stems, and leaves for the first time. After ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) roots inoculation, strain Ph6-gfp actively and internally colonized plant roots and transferred vertically to the shoots. Ph6-gfp had a natural capacity to cope with phenanthrene in vitro and in planta. Ph6-gfp degraded 81.1% of phenanthrene (50 mg·L(−1)) in a culture solution within 15 days. The inoculation of plants with Ph6-gfp reduced the risks associated with plant phenanthrene contamination based on observations of decreased concentration, accumulation, and translocation factors of phenanthrene in ryegrass. Our results will have important ramifications in the assessment of the environmental risks of PAHs and in finding ways to circumvent plant PAH contamination.