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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, October 2006, p. 6693-6698, Vol. 72, No. 10
0099-2240/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.01535-06
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Biotransformation of N-Nitrosodimethylamine by Pseudomonas mendocina KR1

Diane Fournier,¹ Jalal Hawari,¹ Sheryl H. Streger,² Kevin McClay,² and Paul B. Hatzinger^2*

Biotechnology Research Institute, National Research Council of Canada, Montreal, Quebec H4P 2R2, Canada,¹ Shaw Environmental, Inc., Lawrenceville, New Jersey 08648²

Received 3 July 2006/ Accepted 12 August 2006

N-Nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) is a potent carcinogen and an emerging contaminant in groundwater and drinking water. The metabolism of NDMA in mammalian cells has been widely studied, but little information is available concerning the microbial transformation of this compound. The objective of this study was to elucidate the pathway(s) of NDMA biotransformation by Pseudomonas mendocina KR1, a strain that possesses toluene-4-monooxygenase (T4MO). P. mendocina KR1 was observed to initially oxidize NDMA to N-nitrodimethylamine (NTDMA), a novel metabolite. The use of ¹⁸O₂ and H₂¹⁸O revealed that the oxygen added to NDMA to produce NTDMA was derived from atmospheric O₂. Experiments performed with a pseudomonad expressing cloned T4MO confirmed that T4MO catalyzes this initial reaction. The NTDMA produced by P. mendocina KR1 did not accumulate, but rather it was metabolized further to produce N-nitromethylamine (88 to 94% recovery) and a trace amount of formaldehyde (HCHO). Small quantities of methanol (CH₃OH) were also detected when the strain was incubated with NDMA but not during incubation with either NTDMA or HCHO. The formation of methanol is hypothesized to occur via a second, minor pathway mediated by an initial -hydroxylation of the nitrosamine. Strain KR1 did not grow on NDMA or mineralize significant quantities of the compound to carbon dioxide, suggesting that the degradation process is cometabolic.

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* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Shaw Environmental, Inc., 17 Princess Road, Lawrenceville, NJ 08648. Phone: (609) 895-5356. Fax: (609) 895-1858. E-mail: paul.hatzinger{at}shawgrp.com.

Published ahead of print on 1 September 2006.

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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, October 2006, p. 6693-6698, Vol. 72, No. 10
0099-2240/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.01535-06
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

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