Abstract
Anaerobic degradation of natural monoterpenes by microorganisms was evaluated by using Pseudomonas citronellolis DSM 50332 and enrichment cultures containing nitrate as an electron acceptor. P. citronellolis grew anaerobically on 3,7-dimethyl-1-octanol and citronellol but not on geraniol, nerol, and alicyclic monoterpenes. In contrast, several a-, mono-, and bicyclic monoterpenes supported microbial growth and denitrification in enrichment cultures. We found that consumption of linalool, menthol, menth-1-ene, alpha-phellandrene, limonene, 2-carene, alpha-pinene, and fenchone in enrichment cultures depended on the presence of living microorganisms and nitrate. In these experiments, the ratios of number of electrons derived from complete substrate oxidation to number of electrons derived from nitrate reduction ranged from 1.2:1 to 2.9:1. Microbial degradation was accompanied by the formation of small traces of monoterpenes, which were characterized by gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy. The formation of geraniol and geranial from linalool suggested that a 3,1-hydroxyl-delta 1-delta 2-mutase reaction initiates linalool degradation. Seven strains of motile, oval to rod-shaped, facultatively denitrifying bacteria were isolated on agar bottle plates by using linalool, menthol, menth-1-ene, alpha-phellandrene, 2-carene, eucalyptol, and alpha-pinene as sole carbon and energy sources.
Full Text
The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (321.1 KB).
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Altenschmidt U., Fuchs G. Anaerobic degradation of toluene in denitrifying Pseudomonas sp.: indication for toluene methylhydroxylation and benzoyl-CoA as central aromatic intermediate. Arch Microbiol. 1991;156(2):152–158. doi: 10.1007/BF00290990. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Cantwell S. G., Lau E. P., Watt D. S., Fall R. R. Biodegradation of acyclic isoprenoids by Pseudomonas species. J Bacteriol. 1978 Aug;135(2):324–333. doi: 10.1128/jb.135.2.324-333.1978. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Dangel W., Tschech A., Fuchs G. Anaerobic metabolism of cyclohexanol by denitrifying bacteria. Arch Microbiol. 1988;150(4):358–362. doi: 10.1007/BF00408307. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Dolfing J., Zeyer J., Binder-Eicher P., Schwarzenbach R. P. Isolation and characterization of a bacterium that mineralizes toluene in the absence of molecular oxygen. Arch Microbiol. 1990;154(4):336–341. doi: 10.1007/BF00276528. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Hermann M., Noll K. M., Wolfe R. S. Improved agar bottle plate for isolation of methanogens or other anaerobes in a defined gas atmosphere. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1986 May;51(5):1124–1126. doi: 10.1128/aem.51.5.1124-1126.1986. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Koch J., Eisenreich W., Bacher A., Fuchs G. Products of enzymatic reduction of benzoyl-CoA, a key reaction in anaerobic aromatic metabolism. Eur J Biochem. 1993 Feb 1;211(3):649–661. doi: 10.1111/j.1432-1033.1993.tb17593.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Lovley D. R., Lonergan D. J. Anaerobic Oxidation of Toluene, Phenol, and p-Cresol by the Dissimilatory Iron-Reducing Organism, GS-15. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1990 Jun;56(6):1858–1864. doi: 10.1128/aem.56.6.1858-1864.1990. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Rueter P., Rabus R., Wilkes H., Aeckersberg F., Rainey F. A., Jannasch H. W., Widdel F. Anaerobic oxidation of hydrocarbons in crude oil by new types of sulphate-reducing bacteria. Nature. 1994 Dec 1;372(6505):455–458. doi: 10.1038/372455a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- SEUBERT W. Degradation of isoprenoid compounds by micro-organisms. I. Isolation and characterization of an isoprenoid-degrading bacterium, Pseudomonas citronellolis n. sp. J Bacteriol. 1960 Mar;79:426–434. doi: 10.1128/jb.79.3.426-434.1960. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Uffen R. L., Wolfe R. S. Anaerobic growth of purple nonsulfur bacteria under dark conditions. J Bacteriol. 1970 Oct;104(1):462–472. doi: 10.1128/jb.104.1.462-472.1970. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]