title: Microbial assimilation of alkyl nitro compounds and formation of nitrite.
abstract: 66 representative strains of bacteria, yeasts and fungi were tested for their ability to grow in a semidefined medium containing 0.5% nitroethane as a nitrogen source. About half of them were found capable of growing in the medium. Hansenula beijerinckii, Candida utilis, and Penicillium chrysogenum were most active in assimilating nitroethane. 2-Nitropropane inhibited growth of most of the microorganisms tested in a medium containing 0.2% peptone and 0.2% glycerol. Hansenula mrakii was found to grow rapidly in the nitroethane-peptone medium after a lag phase. Nitrite was accumulated in the culture fluid after the phase of logarithmic multiplication, and increased with increase of the growth, followed by a decline after the maximum growth. The alkyl nitro compounds were oxidatively denitrified to form nitrite by the crude enzyme from Hansenula mrakii. Nitroethane was generally a poor substrate, but was the best inducer to produce the nitro compounds oxidizing enzyme. 2-Nitro-propane and nitroethane were enzymatically oxidized to nitrite, and acetone and acetaldehyde, respectively, which were isolated as 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazones and identified. Nitrite formed was found to be reduced into ammonia by the intact cells and also the crude enzyme.
mesh_terms: D000079:Acetaldehyde / Q000378:metabolism; D000096:Acetone / Q000378:metabolism; D001419:Bacteria / Q000378:metabolism; D004980:Ethane / Q000378:metabolism*; D005658:Fungi / Q000378:metabolism; D009573:Nitrites / Q000378:metabolism; D009574:Nitro Compounds / Q000378:metabolism*; D010088:Oxidoreductases / Q000378:metabolism; D010843:Pichia / Q000378:metabolism; D011407:Propane / Q000378:metabolism*; D015003:Yeasts / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D009573:Nitrites; D009574:Nitro Compounds; D000096:Acetone; D010088:Oxidoreductases; D000079:Acetaldehyde; D004980:Ethane; D011407:Propane