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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, April 1999, p. 1372-1377, Vol. 65, No. 4
Institut für Biochemie,
Universität Witten/Herdecke, D-58453 Witten, Germany
Received 30 September 1998/Accepted 6 January 1999
There are only a few examples of microbial conversion of picric
acid (2,4,6-trinitrophenol). None of the organisms that have been
described previously is able to use this compound as a sole source of
carbon, nitrogen, and energy at high rates. In this study we isolated
and characterized a strain, strain CB 22-2, that was able to use picric
acid as a sole source of carbon and energy at concentrations up to 40 mM and at rates of 1.6 mmol · h
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Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Formation of Hydride-Meisenheimer Complexes of
Picric Acid (2,4,6-Trinitrophenol) and 2,4-Dinitrophenol during
Mineralization of Picric Acid by Nocardioides sp. Strain
CB 22-2
1 · g (dry
weight) of cells
1 in continuous cultures and 920 µmol · h
1 · g (dry weight) of
cells
1 in flasks. In addition, this strain was able to
use picric acid as a sole source of nitrogen at comparable rates in a
nitrogen-free medium. Biochemical characterization and 16S ribosomal
DNA analysis revealed that strain CB 22-2 is a Nocardioides
sp. strain. High-pressure liquid chromatography and UV-visible light
data, the low residual chemical oxygen demand, and the stoichiometric
release of 2.9 ± 0.1 mol of nitrite per mol of picric acid
provided strong evidence that complete mineralization of picric acid
occurred. During transformation, the metabolites detected in the
culture supernatant were the [H
]-Meisenheimer complexes
of picric acid and 2,4-dinitrophenol (H
-DNP), as well as
2,4-dinitrophenol. Experiments performed with crude extracts revealed
that H
-DNP formation indeed is a physiologically relevant
step in picric acid metabolism.
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Institut
für Biochemie, Universität Witten/Herdecke, Stockumer
Straße 10, 58448 Witten, Germany Phone: 49-2302-669131. Fax:
49-2302-669220. E-mail: kerstinh{at}uni-wh.de.
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