Alkyl sulfatase (sdsA1) gene involved in sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) degradation was first reported from Pseudomonas aeruginosa PA01 however, its status from other species of Pseudomonas is still unexplored. This study deals with the screening of enzyme, alkyl sulfatase (SdsA1) and sdsA1 gene from various strains/species of Pseudomonas. sdsA1 gene was successfully PCR-amplified from four strains of P. aeruginosa, but in other species of Pseudomonas it was not detected using PCR method. Cloning and sequencing of amplified PCR fragment from P. aeruginosa SDS3 confirmed presence and identity of sdsA1 gene. Sequence analysis revealed 98% identity with the sdsA1 gene sequence of the reference strain, P. aeruginosa PAW. However, BLAST search showed the presence of orthologs of sdsA1 gene in other species of Pseudomonas. Identity of alkyl sulfatase from strain SDS3 was proven on protein level. Protein band of alkyl sulfatase (retrieved after zymography) showed close identity to alkyl sulfatase (SdsA1) of P. aeruginosa PA01 in MALDI-TOF MS analysis. RT-PCR assay revealed inducible transcription of sdsA1 gene in P. aeruginosa strain SDS3. Our findings suggest that alkyl sulfatase of P. aeruginosa strain SDS3 may be used in industrial processes as well as in bioremediation of localities contaminated with SDS. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.