Isolation And Characterization Of Meta-toluic Acid Degrading Marine Bacterium

摘要

The analysis of the sea water samples using sequential enrichment technique revealed a report of marine bacterium capable of degrading meta-toluic acid-a component of crude oil. An attempt to characterize the isolated culture using biochemical tests indicated the culture as a Gram- negative aerobic rod that was highly motile exhibiting biodegrading ability and was identified as Pseudomonas spp. strain GUI13. Further, a comparative analysis of the biochemical characters with the archae-type terrestrial soil bacterium indicated that the isolate required marked amounts of Sodium chloride (NaCl) in the medium to retain its viability. Substrate constant (K_s) of strain GUI13 with respect to meta-toluic acid was found to be eight times lower when compared to that of a terrestrial bacterium. A similar ratio was observed in case of Michaelis constants (K_m) for the key degradative enzyme, Catechol 2,3- dioxygenase, emphasizing the distinguishing feature of the marine bacteria that helps it to carry on the process of bio-transformations at very low concentrations of carbon, a unique condition that exists in the sea.