Microaerobic degradation of 2-Mercaptobenzothiazole (2-MBT) was investigated using an isolated bacterial strain CSMB1. It was identified as Alcaligenes sp. MH146 by genomic analysis. The isolate degraded 50 mg/L concentration of 2-MBT which was measured in terms of Total organic carbon (TOC) (700 mg/L). A maximum degradation of 86% with a residual TOC concentration of 101 mg/L was obtained after 72 h, with the biomass growth of 290 mg/L. The presence of specific activity of catechol 2,3 oxygenase was observed in all the tested derivatives of benzothiazoles and the benzene ring opening was observed through meta cleavage. By analyzing the 72 h incubated culture supernatant, 2-MBT, and all its biotransformed products were degraded into polar compounds. With the analytical results obtained, a possible microaerobic degradative pathway was proposed and illustrated for 2-MBT. It is concluded that microaerophilic isolate CSMB1 was able to degrade 2-MBT and its intermediates by utilizing them as sole carbon and energy. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.