Abstract
Melamine (2,4,6-triamino-1,3,5-triazine, C3H6N6), belonging to the s-triazine family, is an anthropogenic and versatile raw material for a large number of consumer products and its extensive use has resulted in the contamination of melamine in the environment. A novel melamine-degrading bacterium strain CY1 was isolated from a melamine-manufacturing factory in China. The strain is phylogenetically different from the known melamine-degrading bacteria. Approximately, 94 % melamine (initial melamine concentration 4.0 mM, initial cell OD 0.05) was degraded in 10 days without the addition of additional carbon source. High-performance liquid chromatography showed the production of degradation intermediates including ammeline, ammelide, cyanuric acid, biuret, and urea. Kinetic simulation analysis indicated that transformation of urea into ammonia was the rate-limiting step for the degradation process. The melamine–cyanurate complex was formed due to self-assembly of melamine and cyanuric acid during the degradation. The tracking experiment using CY1 cells and 13C3-melamine showed that the CY1 could mineralize s-triazine ring carbon to CO2. The strain CY1 could also catalyze partial transformation of cyromazine, a cyclopropyl derivative of melamine, to 6-(cyclopropylamino)-[1,3,5]triazine-2,4-diol.
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Acknowledgments
We thank Professor Oliver Hao for his valuable comments. This work was supported by the Science and Technology Innovation and Collaboration Team Project of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Technology Foundation for Selected Overseas Chinese Scholar of MOHRSS, China, the Hundred Talents Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Science, Technology Planning Project of Xiamen, China (3502Z20120012), and the CAS/SAFEA International Partnership Program for Creative Research Teams (KZCX2-YW-T08).
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Wang, H., Geng, C., Li, J. et al. Characterization of a novel melamine-degrading bacterium isolated from a melamine-manufacturing factory in China. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 98, 3287–3293 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-013-5363-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-013-5363-2