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. 1992 Aug;58(8):2694–2697. doi: 10.1128/aem.58.8.2694-2697.1992

Application of p-Toluidine in Chromogenic Detection of Catechol and Protocatechuate, Diphenolic Intermediates in Catabolism of Aromatic Compounds

Donna Parke 1
PMCID: PMC195844  PMID: 16348758

Abstract

In the presence of p-toluidine and iron, protocatechuate and catechols yield color. Inclusion of p-toluidine in media facilitates the screening of microbial strains for alterations affecting aromatic catabolism. Such strains include mutants affected in the expression of oxygenases and Escherichia coli colonies carrying cloned or subcloned aromatic catabolic genes which encode enzymes giving rise to protocatechuate or catechol. The diphenolic detection system can also be applied to the creation of vectors relying on insertion of cloned DNA into one of the latter marker genes.

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Selected References

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