Degradation of trichloroethylene by Pseudomonas putida F1 grown on toluene and its degradation product benzyl alcohol

Trichloroethylene (TCE) is a volatile chlorinated compound that is an environmental contaminant and a suspected human carcinogen. No microorganism has been found that is able to use TCE as its sole source of carbon and energy, but it has been reported that oxygenases can initiate the degradation of this compound. Initial experiments in this study were designed to determine if Pseudomonas putida F1 (ATCC #700007) cells grown on toluene and its degradation product, benzyl alcohol, could degrade TCE. Results show that cells grown on toluene and benzyl alcohol were able to degrade TCE. However, when chloramphenicol, an inhibitor of protein synthesis, was added to the toluene and benzyl alcohol-grown cells, they could no longer degrade TCE. This is contrary to literature, which reports that TCE is cometabolized under aerobic condition. This conclusion was confirmed by the fact that both toluene and benzyl alcohol were degraded by dioxygenases while TCE was degraded by a monooxygenase. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)...