Transformation of Thiodiglycol by Resting Cells of Alcaligenesxylosoxydans PGH10

Abstract

A new strain of Alcaligenes xylosoxydans able to aerobically cometabolize thiodiglycol, the primary hydrolysis product of sulfur mustard, was isolated and tested in a laboratory scale stirred tank reactor. The strain, named PGH10, cannot use TDG as sole carbon and energy source for growth, but resting cells previously grown on either rich broth or defined mineral media efficiently metabolize this compound through [(2-hydroxyethyl)thio]acetic acid and thiodiacetic acid as intermediates. Degradation of TDG by PGH10 is shown to take place at late exponential and stationary phase but is not triggered by carbon exhaustion. Cultures pregrown to saturation for 48 h in the absence of TDG can be stored and used for degradation of TDG, reducing significantly the time required to achieve the reduction of the compound concentration to undetectable levels. Degradation can take place in buffered media with no carbon source added, although best results were obtained in mineral media supplemented with citrate or fructose. Oxidation to [(2-hydroxyethyl)thio]acetic acid and thiodiacetic acid was proposed to be catalyzed by a butanol-dehydrogenase activity. Inhibition of TDG transformation in the presence of several alcohols is also shown.

Microbial utilization of the industrial wastewater pollutants 2-ethylhexylthioglycolic acid and iso-octylthioglycolic acid by aerobic Gram-negative bacteria

“…Representatives of the genus Achromobacter exhibit frequently the capabilities to degrade esterified OSC, e.g., as also described in the past for Achromobacter (or Alcaligenes) xylosoxidans ssp. denitrificans (Kim et al 1997;Lee et al 2000;Tikhonova et al 2002;Garcia-Ruiz et al 2002).…”

“…1d), which is a detoxication product of mustard gas and of thiodiglycolic acid (Fig. 1e) by Alcaligenes xylosoxidans, was shown in many studies (Kim et al 1997;Lee et al 2000;Tikhonova et al 2002;Garcia-Ruiz et al 2002). Because EHTG and IOTG are structurally related to thiodiglycol, degradation of these esters by related strains may be auspicious.…”

Biodegradation of thiodiglycol, a hydrolyzate of the chemical weapon Yperite, by benzothiophene-desulfurizing bacteria

“…TDG is included in the Schedule List of the CWC, and it is commercially used in textile dyeing and in printing solvents. There are many extensive reports on microbial TDG degradation by the gram-negative bacterium Alcaligenes sp., which utilizes TDG as the sole carbon and energy source [4][5][6]13,14,21]. Bioconversion/biodegradation of TDG by yeasts and basidiomycetes was also reported [7,9].…”

Effect of dumped chemical weapon on the Baltic Sea microbiota

“…6-2 and Pseudomonas sp. 8-2 [3], Alcaligenes xylosoxydans PGH 10 [8], Alcaligenes xylosoxydans subsp. denitrificans TD 2 [9], Alcaligenes xylosoxydans ssp.…”