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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, November 1999, p. 4788-4792, Vol. 65, No. 11
0099-2240/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Biodegradation of Methyl tert-Butyl Ether by a Bacterial Pure Culture

Jessica R. Hanson, Corinne E. Ackerman, and Kate M. Scow*

Department of Land, Air and Water Resources, University of California, Davis, California 95616

Received 30 April 1999/Accepted 24 August 1999

A bacterial strain, PM1, which is able to utilize methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) as its sole carbon and energy source, was isolated from a mixed microbial consortium in a compost biofilter capable of degrading MTBE. Initial linear rates of MTBE degradation by 2 × 106 cells ml-1 were 0.07, 1.17, and 3.56 µg ml-1 h-1 for initial concentrations of 5, 50, and 500 µg MTBE ml-1, respectively. When incubated with 20 µg of uniformly labeled [14C]MTBE ml-1, strain PM1 converted 46% to 14CO2 and 19% to 14C-labeled cells within 120 h. This yield is consistent with the measurement of protein accumulation at different MTBE concentrations from which was estimated a biomass yield of 0.18 mg of cells mg MTBE-1. Strain PM1 was inoculated into sediment core material collected from a contaminated groundwater plume at Port Hueneme, California, in which there was no evidence of MTBE degradation. Strain PM1 readily degraded 20 µg of MTBE ml-1 added to the core material. The rate of MTBE removal increased with additional inputs of 20 µg of MTBE ml-1. These results suggest that PM1 has potential for use in the remediation of MTBE-contaminated environments.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Land, Air, and Water Resources, One Shields Ave., University of California, Davis, CA 95616. Phone: (530) 752-4632. Fax: (530) 752-1552. E-mail: kmscow{at}ucdavis.edu.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, November 1999, p. 4788-4792, Vol. 65, No. 11
0099-2240/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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