Characterization of a novel salt-tolerant strain Sphingopyxis sp. CY-10 capable of heterotrophic nitrification and aerobic denitrification

A novel heterotrophic nitrification and aerobic denitrification (HN-AD) strain CY-10 was isolated and identified as Sphingopyxis sp. When ammonium, nitrate or nitrite was used as the sole nitrogen source (300 mg/L), the maximum nitrogen removal efficiency of strain CY-10 were 100%, 91.1% and 68.5%, respectively. The optimal salinity for ammonia nitrogen removal by strain CY-10 was in the range of 0-5%. At the salinity of 5%, a maximum nitrogen removal rate of 6.25 mg/(L·h) was realized. Metabonomics data showed that the metabolic levels of sucrose and D-tagatose increased significantly at 5% salinity condition, enabling the strain to regulate osmotic pressure and survive in high-salt environments. Functional genes were successfully amplified by quantitative PCR, and HN-AD pathway of strain CY-10 followed NH4+-N → NH2OH → NO2--N → NO → N2O → N2. These findings show that strain CY-10 has great potential in nitrogen removal treatment of saline wastewater.