Rhodococcus

Abstract

The genus name "Rhodococcus" was first used by Zopf in 1891 to describe two species of red-pigmented bacteria.1–3 The taxon Rhodococcus is of interest for a variety of reasons, including its several metabolic abilities, as they can degrade a wide range of environmental pollutants and transform or synthesize a number of compounds with possible useful applications. Rhodococci are virtually ubiquitous, which is evident by their presence in a large variety of sources including soils, rocks, boreholes, groundwater, marine sediments, animal dung, the guts of insects, and in healthy and diseased animals and plants.4–6 The commercial potential of Rhodococcus species is increasingly being recognized. Their outstanding ability to synthesize several products such as surfactants, flocculants, amides, and polymers, as well as their capacity to degrade or transform a wide range of chemicals make rhodococci actually or potentially useful in environmental and industrial biotechnology. This increasing interest is reflected in patenting. Finnerty lists 10 patents relating to rhodococci up to 1990,1 Warhurst and Fewson report that a further 20 patent families were submitted in the following two years, while from 1993 to November 1996, a further 80 patents were submitted to the World Patent Index.6