The conventional roll tube and plating techniques are typically time consuming and can culture in vitro only a small fraction of microbes in natural microflora. This study utilizes a novel, simple, and rapid method, the toxicity-to-extinction approach, to obtain the minimal functional consortium that can effectively degrade meta- (m-), para- (p-), and ortho- (o-) cresols. The original sludge had 16 major bands by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). Microbial diversity decreased as the cresol concentration increased. The functional strains acquired under toxic stress by dosed cresols that individually degraded m-, p-, and o-cresols were identified. Catechol 1,2-dioxygenase (C12D) and catechol 2,3-dioxygenase (C23D) activities in cell-free extracts were determined spectrophotometrically and were correlated with noted changes in microbial communities under cresol stress. The proposed toxicity-to-extinction approach is feasible for isolating a functional consortium from sludge for cresol degradation. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.