Degradation of tert-butyl esters by propane-grown cells of M. vaccae JOB5. The figure shows the time course of TBA production from three tert-butyl esters by propane-grown cells of M. vaccae JOB5. Cells (0.4 mg of total protein) were incubated with TBF, TBAc, and TBP (1 μmol) in glass serum vials in the presence of acetylene (10% [vol/vol], gas phase). The production of TBA was determined by GC, as described in Materials and Methods. The figure shows the amount of TBA accumulated plotted against time for reactions conducted with cells (closed symbols) and without cells (open symbols) in the presence of TBF (♦, ⋄), TBAc (•, ○), and TBP (▪, □).