Abstract
Combination of genetic systems of degradation of xenobiotic compound and heavy metal resistance is one of the approaches to the creation of polyfunctional strains for bioremediation of soil after co-contamination with organic pollutants and heavy metals. A bacterial strain Pseudomonas putida PhCN (pPhCN1, pPhCN2) has been obtained. This bacterium contains two plasmids, a 120-kb catabolic plasmid that encodes for breakdown of phenol (pPhCN1) and pPhCN2 plasmid that codes for cadmium and copper resistant. Cyanide assimilation by this bacterium is encoded by chromosomal genes. The inhibitory effect of cadmium (Cd2+) or copper (Cu2+) on the degradation of phenol by P. putida strains PhCN and PhCN1 (contained pPhCN1) were investigated in the presence of phenol and cyanide as a sole carbon and nitrogen source, respectively. The resistant strain PhCN showed high ability to degrade phenol and cyanide in presence of Cd2+ or Cu2+ as compared to the sensitive strain PhCN1. In addition, Cd2+ or Cu2+ was also found to exert a strong inhibitory effect on the C23O dioxygenase enzyme activity in the presence of cyanide as a nitrogen source. However, the presence of heavy metal resistance plasmid alleviated the inhibitory effect of metals on the enzyme activity in resistant strain.