Franz Streichsbier

Degradation of phenol and phenolic compounds by Pseudomonas putida EKII

SummaryThe phenol-degrading strain Pseudomonas putida EKII was isolated from a soil enrichment culture and utilized phenol up to 10.6 mM (1.0 g·1 -1) as the sole source of carbon and energy. Furthermore, cresols, chlorophenols, 3,4-dimethylphenol, and 4-chloro-m-cresol were metabolized as sole substrates by phenol-grown resting cells of strain EKII. Under conditions of cell growth, degradation of these xenobiotics was achieved only in co-metabolism with phenol. Phenol hydroxylase activity was detectable in whole cells but not in cell-free extracts. The specificity of the hydroxylating enzyme was found during transformation of cresols and chlorophenols: ortho- and meta-substituted phenols were degraded via 3-substituted catechols, while degradation of para-substituted phenols proceeded via 4-substituted catechols. In cell-free extracts of phenol-grown cells a high level of catechol 2,3-dioxygenase as well as smaller amounts of 2-hydroxymuconic semialdehyde hydrolyase and catechol 1,2-dioxygenase were detected. The ring-cleaving enzymes were characterized after partial purification by DEAE-cellulose chromatography.

DEGRADATION OF ANILINE AND MONOCHLORINATED ANILINES BY SOIL-BORN PSEUDOMONAS ACIDOVORANS STRAINS

Four bacterial strains (CA26, CA28, CA37, and CA45), which all were able to use aniline, 3-chloroaniline (3-CA), and 4-chloroaniline (4-CA) as sole sources of carbon, nitrogen and energy, were isolated after enrichment in aerated soil columns and identified as Pseudomonas acidovorans strains. In addition strains CA26 and CA45 were able to degrade 2-chloroaniline (2-CA) at very low rates. At 25°C strain CA28 was grown on aniline and 3-CA with generation times of 3.0 and 7.7 h, respectively, and exhibited complete mineralization of these substrates in degradation rates of 2.25 mmol aniline and 1.63 mmol 3-CA g-1 of biomass per hour, respectively. Degradation of 4-CA occurred at 1.54 mmol 4-CA g-1 of biomass per hour and a generation time of 18.7 h but, in contrast, was not complete due to formation of minor amounts of chlorohydroxymuconic semialdehyde, a meta-cleavage product of 4-chlorocatechol. The initial attack on the substrate, the formation of corresponding chlorocatechols from 3-CA and 4-CA, was found to be the rate-limiting degradation step. Evidence for two different aniline-oxygenase systems in strain CA28 with distinct activity pattern on chlorinated and nonsubstituted anilines was demonstrated by oxygen uptake rate experiments with aniline and chloroaniline pregrown cells. Further degradation was shown to be initialized by catechol dioxygenases.

Isolation and characterization of a 2-(2,4-dichlorophenoxy) propionic acid-degrading soil bacterium

SummaryThe 2-(2,4-dichlorphenoxy)propionic acid (2,4-DP)-degrading bacterial strain MH was isolated after numerous subcultivations of a mixed culture obtained by soil-column enrichment and finally identified as Flavobacterium sp. Growth of this strain was supported by 2,4-DP (maximum specific growth rate 0.2 h−1) as well as by 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), 4(2,4-dichlorophenoxy)butyric acid (2,4-DB), and 2-(4-chloro-2-methyphenoxy)propionic acid (MCPP) as sole sources of carbon and energy under aerobic conditions. 2,4-DP-Grown cells (108) of strain MH degraded 2,4-dichlorophenoxyalkanoic acids, 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP), and 4-chlorophenol at rates in the range of 30 nmol/h. Preliminary investigations indicate that cleavage of 2,4-DP results in 2,4-DCP, which is further mineralized via ortho-hydroxylation and ortho-cleavage of the resulting 3,5-dichlorocatechol.

Isolation and characterization of a 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid-degrading soil bacterium

SummaryA 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D)-degrading bacterial strain, Xanthobacter sp. CP, was isolated after enrichment in aerated soil columns. A limited number of chlorinated phenols and chlorinated phenoxyalkanoic acids with an even number of carbon atoms in the side chain served as substrates for growth, although whole cells exhibited oxygen uptake with a wide range of those compounds. The maximal growth rate with 2,4-D was 0.13·h-1 at a growth yield of 0.1 g biomass/g 2,4-D. Chloride ions were released quantitatively from 2,4-D and related chlorinated aromatic compounds which served as growth substrates. No by-products of 2,4-D metabolism were detected in oxygen-sufficient cultures of Xanthobacter sp. CP and catechols were cleaved exclusively by catechol 1,2-dioxygenase.

Characterization of isofunctional ring‐cleaving enzymes in aniline and 3‐chloroaniline degradation by Pseudomonas acidovorans CA28

During degradation of aniline and 3-chloroaniline, respectively, by Pseudomonas acidovorans CA28, selective induction of two catechol 1,2-dioxygenases (C12O) was observed. C12O I activity was the sole ring-cleaving enzyme detectable in cell-free extracts after growth on aniline, while C12O II was exclusively found after growth on 3-chloroaniline. Both enzymes were clearly differentiated by their elution behaviour on DEAE-cellulose and their substrate specificities. For C12O I high activity was demonstrable only with unsubstituted catechol, while C12O II showed preference for and high affinity towards chlorinated catechols. Therefore, evidence of different ortho-cleavage enzymes in Pseudomonas acidovorans CA28 involved in aniline and 3-chloroaniline metabolism, respectively, is indicated.

Continuous degradation of 3-chloroaniline by calcium-alginate-entrapped cells of Pseudomonas acidovorans CA28: influence of additional substrates

SummaryCells of Pseudomonas acidovorans strain CA28 capable of degrading aniline, 3-chloroaniline (3-CA), and 4-chloroaniline (4-CA) were immobilized in 1.5% (w/v) calcium alginate and cultivated in a special air-lift fermentor. For 6 weeks the fermentor was run as a chemostat with 3-CA (850 to 1166 μmol·l−1) as the sole source of carbon, nitrogen, and energy at dilution rates up to 0.297 h−1, which resulted in complete mineralization of the chloroaniline. Effects of aniline, monochloroanilines, 2,6-dichloroaniline, 3,4-dichloroaniline, fructose and acetate on the continuous degradation of 3-CA were estimated by single addition of these substrates to the fermentor. Fructose and acetate were metabolized without affecting 3-CA degradation, whereas addition of aniline derivatives resulted in a reversible decrease of the 3-CA degradation rate and thus intermediate accumulation of 3-CA in the fermentor.

The microbiological aspects of grape marc humification

SummaryThe microbiological aspects of a novel process of grape marc composting have been investigated. It has been possible to determine the succession of populations during the process which are required to obtain the required final product. The initial population comprises exclusively yeasts which, by autolysis and subsequent binding of the residual alcohol by esterifying reactions, enable rapid appearance of a mixed population of bacteria. The temperature increase continued by this bacterial flora favours growth of a thermophilic fungal flora, which is mainly responsible for the microbial decomposition process. The most important organism is Thermomyces lanuginosus Tsiklinski. Final humification is effected by a mixed population of Streptomycetes.It was possible to optimize the process by installing heat exchangers, thereby creating optimum conditions for the most important organism, T. lanuginosus.

Isolation and characterization of Achromobacter xylosoxidans T7 capable of degrading toluidine isomers

A bacterial strain capable of utilizing toluidine isomers as its sole source of carbon and energy for growth was isolated from contaminated soil. The isolate was identified as Achromobacter xylosoxidans and was designated strain T7. Strain T7 differs from other toluidine‐degrading strains with respect to the use of all three toluidine isomers even as an equimolar mixture. Additionally, strain T7 harbours the ability to use aniline, phenol, and cresols as growth substrates. Utilization of the toluidine isomers was demonstrated by an increase in the bacterial biomass concomitant with a decrease of the respective toluidine concentration in liquid medium with this compound as sole source of carbon and energy. No accumulation of any intermediate was detectable by HPLC‐analyses. Results of oxygen uptake experiments with resting cells of strain T7 pre‐grown on the respective toluidine and enzymatic investigations in cell‐free extracts indicate the metabolization of the toluidines via the respective methylcatechols as intermediates. These compounds are substrates for the meta‐cleavage pathway initiated by inducible catechol 2,3‐dioxygenase found in toluidine‐grown cells of strain T7.

Mineralization of 3-chloro-4-methylaniline via an ortho-cleavage pathway by Pseudomonas cepacia strain CMA1

Pseudomonas cepacia strain CMA1, which was isolated from soil, utilized 3-chloro-4-methylaniline (3C4MA) in concentrations up to 1.4 mm (0.2 g·l−1) as the sole source of carbon, nitrogen, and energy. In addition, 3-chloroaniline, 4-chloroaniline and phenol, but not aniline or methylanilines, were degraded by strain CMA1. Biodegradation of the anilines was coupled to the liberation of ammonium and chloride. The broad specificities of the aniline- and catechol-oxidizing enzymes were demonstrated in oxygen uptake experiments, which in addition showed higher activities for ring-cleaving than for aniline-oxidizing enzymes. Two ring-cleaving catechol 1,2-dioxygenases, which were induced selectively after growth on 3C4MA (pyrocatechase type II) and phenol (pyrocatechase type I), respectively, were discerned after partial purification by DEAE-cellulose chromatography.