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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, June 2002, p. 2660-2665, Vol. 68, No. 6
0099-2240/02/$04.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/AEM.68.6.2660-2665.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
Division of Industrial Microbiology,1 Subdepartment of Environmental Technology, Wageningen University, 6700 EV Wageningen,3 Laboratory of Biochemistry, Wageningen University, 6700 HB Wageningen,2 Department of Environmental Biotechnology, TNO Environment, Energy and Process Innovation, Apeldoorn, The Netherlands4
Received 7 December 2001/ Accepted 6 March 2002
The soil fungus Cladophialophora sp. strain T1 (= ATCC MYA-2335) was capable of growth on a model water-soluble fraction of gasoline that contained all six BTEX components (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and the xylene isomers). Benzene was not metabolized, but the alkylated benzenes (toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes) were degraded by a combination of assimilation and cometabolism. Toluene and ethylbenzene were used as sources of carbon and energy, whereas the xylenes were cometabolized to different extents. o-Xylene and m-xylene were converted to phthalates as end metabolites; p-xylene was not degraded in complex BTEX mixtures but, in combination with toluene, appeared to be mineralized. The metabolic profiles and the inhibitory nature of the substrate interactions indicated that toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene were degraded at the side chain by the same monooxygenase enzyme. Our findings suggest that soil fungi could contribute significantly to bioremediation of BTEX pollution.
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