Research Product

Pseudomonas cepacia F297 showed the ability to grow with fluorene as a sole source of carbon and energy; its growth yield corresponded to assimulation of about 40% of fluorene carbon. Accumulation of a ring meta-cleavage product during growth and identification of 1-indanone in growth media and washed cell suspensions suggest that strain F297 metabolizes fluorene by mechanisms analogous to those of naphthalene degradation. In addition to fluorene, strain F297 utilized for growth a wide variety of polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs), including naphthalene, 2,3-dimethylnaphthalene, phenanthrene, anthracene, and dibenzothiophene. Fluorene-induced cells of the strain also transformed 2,6-dimethylnaphthalene, biphenyl, dibenzofuran, acenaphthene and acenaphthylene. Identification of products formed from those substrates (GC-MS) in washed cell suspensions, indicates that Pseudomonas cepacia F297 carries out the following reactions: (i) aromatic ring oxidation and cleavage, apparently using the pyruvate released for growth, (ii) methyl group oxidations, (iii) methylenic oxidations, and (iv) S-oxidations of aromatic sulfur heterocycles. Strain F297 grew with a creosote-PAC mixture, producing almost complete removal of all aromatic compounds containing 2-3 rings in 14 days, as demonstrated by GC analysis of the remaining PACs recovered from cultures. Identification of key chemicals confirmed that not only are certain compounds depleted, but also the anticipated reaction products are found.