Bioremediation microorganism. Rhodococcus erythropolis PR4

Rhodococcus erythropolis PR4 (NBRC 100887). Rhodococcus erythropolis PR4 (NBRC 100887) was isolated from Pacific Ocean seawater. It has the enzymes necessary for the degradation of different alkanes, such as pristane. PR4 shows tolerance to hydrocarbons and it is capable of producing several compounds with medical, industrial, and nutritional applications such as beta-carotenes (i.e. astaxanthin) and fatty acid-containing extracellular polysaccharides (i.e. mucoidan). PR4 strain harbors one linear plasmid, pREL1 and two circular plasmids, pREC1 and pREC2, all with sequence similarities to other Rhodococcus plasmids. Plasmid pREL1 harbors metal-resistance and alkane-degradation genes. Plasmid pREC1 encodes for a complete set of beta-oxidation enzymes of fatty acids.