Origin of p-cresol in the anaerobic degradation of trinitrotoluene.
p-Cresol was repeatedly detected as a trace metabolite in anaerobic slurry reactors treating 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT)-contaminated soils. This study shows that p-cresol was not a metabolite of the anaerobic degradation of TNT, by using a combination of analytical techniques and 13C-labelled TNT. Instead, p-cresol, an intermediate in the degradation pathway of some amino acids, was shown to be inhibited by TNT and its metabolites. The range and persistence of inhibition to p-cresol microbial degradation decreased with the level of amino-substitution of the derivatives. This explains why p-cresol accumulated within the TNT-treating anaerobic bioslurry, as it could not be further biodegraded in the presence of TNT.
Shen
C F
CF
Biotechnology Research Institute, National Research Council of Canada, Montréal, QC, Canada.
Hawari
J A
JA
Ampleman
G
G
Thiboutot
S
S
Guiot
S R
SR
D000693:Anaerobiosis; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D018533:Biomass; D002247:Carbon Isotopes; D003408:Cresols / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000378:metabolism*; D014303:Trinitrotoluene / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology
D002247:Carbon Isotopes; D003408:Cresols; D012989:Soil Pollutants; D014303:Trinitrotoluene; C032538:4-cresol