## 1 Introduction
Hence, the decontamination of water resources from these compound is one of the major challenges for the preservation of the aquatic ecosystem and wastewater treatment [33]. Biodegradation is one of the main natural processes for the removal of xenobiotics such as chloroaliphatic compounds from the environment using microorganisms [34,35]. The major chemical processes for the metabolism of xenobiotic compounds are oxygenation, oxidation, reduction, hydrolysis, and conjugation, which are catalyzed by enzymes [36]. Dehalogenases are known as enzymes that catalyze the degradation reaction of halogen atoms from halogenated organic compounds. Dehalogenase-producing bacteria can detoxify harmful halogenated compounds from their substratesby cleaving carbon-halogen bonds that link halogens in aliphatic compounds [37; 38]. Based on cleavage nature, dehalogenase enzymes can be classified as haloalkane, dichloromethane, halohydrin, and L- and D-haloalkanoic acid dehalogenases [39]. Each specific group of these enzymes has its enantioselectivity and product inhibition characteristics [40]. Dehalogenase enzyme is present in bacterial systems and plays an important role in the biodegradation of environmental pollution caused by halogenated hydrocarbons [41]. Several research projects have been conducted to study the degradation mechanism of dehalogenase-producing bacteria for bioremediation of halogenated hydrocarbons and related hazardous compounds in soil and water ecosystems. [PERSON] et al. [42] characterized _Bacillus cereus_ WH2 strain for its ability to metabolize \(\beta\)-haloalkanoic acids as carbon and energy sources. [PERSON] and [PERSON] [35] isolated _Ralstonia_ sp. TCAA-2 native to Danga Bay coast, Malaysia, to biodegradable TCA. [PERSON] et al. [43] further characterized dehalogenase enzyme functions of _Rhizobium_ sp. RC1 bacteria. It was reported that RC1 can grow in \(\alpha\)-haloalkanoic acid as the sole carbon source. \(\alpha\)-haloalkanoic acids are halogenated compounds that are widely liberated into the ecosystem through the use of weed herbicides in the agricultural sector. [PERSON] et al. [44] studied the catalytic properties and mechanistic analysis of the microbial dehalogenases specific in _Rhizobium_ sp. RC1. The isolated strain was reported to have outstanding performance in detoxifying L-2-haloacid. [PERSON] et al. [45] characterized deploying _Trichoderma asperellum_ SD1 to degrade 3-chloropropionic acid in the terrestrial ecosystem. [PERSON] et al. [46] used _Arthobacter_ sp. S1 for degradation of \(\alpha\) and \(\beta\)-haloalkanoic acids. As such, most of the research to date has focused on bioremediation of aquatic and terrestrial habitats. Nonetheless, there is a very little study to decontaminate TCA using dehalogenase- producing bacteria and their focus is on terrestrial bacteria or the identified bacteria are non-native to the coastal region of Johor strait. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first reported case that shows _Lysinibacillus_ bacteria could degrade halogenated compounds such as TCA. Because of the issues described above, this study intends to characterize a native bacterium with the capability of degrading TCA. To this end, several bacterial strains capable of aerobically degrading TCA were isolated from the northern coastline of Johor Strait in Malaysia and evaluated for their morphological and biochemical characteristics to degradation capabilities of TCA. The phylogenetic tree of the isolated strain was constructed using 16S-rRNA sequencing and it was recognized that the characterized bacterium was a new subspecies of the genus _Lysinibacillus_. The new bacterium was given the scientific name of _Lysinibacillus borontolerans_ MH2.