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ANAEROBIC BIODEGRADATION OF O-, M- AND P-CRESOL BY SULFATE-REDUCING BACTERIAL ENRICHMENT CULTURES OBTAINED FROM A SHALLOW ANOXIC AQUIFER
Citation:
Suflita, J., L. Liang, AND A. Saxena. ANAEROBIC BIODEGRADATION OF O-, M- AND P-CRESOL BY SULFATE-REDUCING BACTERIAL ENRICHMENT CULTURES OBTAINED FROM A SHALLOW ANOXIC AQUIFER. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/J-89/187.
Description:
Sulfate-reducing bacterial enrichments were obtained from a shallow anoxic aquifer for their ability to metabolize either o-, or p-cresol. C/MS and simultaneous adaptation experiments suggested that the anaerobic decomposition of p-cresol proceeds by the initial oxidation of the aryl methyl group to form p-hydroxybenzoic acid. his intermediate was then converted to benzoic acid. enzoic acid and a hydroxybenzaldehyde were also found in spent culture fluids from an o-cresol-degrading enrichment culture. his result, in addition to others, suggested that o-cresol may also be anaerobically degraded by the oxidation of the methyl substituent. n alternate pathway for anaeroblc m-cresol decomposition might exist. Enrichment cultures obtained with either p- or o-cresol degraded both of these substrates but not m-cresol. n contrast a m-cresol enrichment culture did not metabolize the ortho or para isomers. naerobic biodegradation in all enrichment cultures was inhibited by molybdate and oxygen, and was dependent on the presence of sulfate as a terminal electron acceptor. he stoichiometry of sulfate-reduction and substrate depletion by the various enrichment cultures indicated that the parent cresol isomers ere completely mineralized. his result was confirmed by the conversion of 14C-labeled p-cresol to 14CO2. hese results help clarify the fate of alkylated aromatic chemicals.