title: Effect of methyl substitution on microbial degradation of linear styrene dimers by two soil bacteria.
abstract: The microbial degradation of 10 linear unsaturated dimers (I to IV) prepared from styrene and o-, m-, or p-methylstyrene was investigated with two soil bacteria, Alcaligenes sp. strain 559 and Pseudomonas sp. strain 419. The two strains decomposed styrene dimer I and all styrene-methylstyrene codimers II and III, but methylstyrene homodimers IV remained intact. The degradation rates of codimers II and III of o- and m-methylstyrenes were found to depend on both their structure and the strain used; i.e., Alcaligenes sp. strain 559 decomposed III faster than II, whereas the reverse order (II > III) was obtained with Pseudomonas sp. strain 419. In biodegradation by the former strain, the codimers were degraded faster in the presence of styrene dimer I than in its absence, but no such effect of dimer I was observed with the latter.
authors.affiliation: Department of Polymer Chemistry, Faculty of Engineering, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606, and Fermentation Research Institute, Agency of Industrial Science & Technology, Tsukuba, Ibaragi 305, Japan.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Higashimura
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sawamoto
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hiza
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Karaiwa
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tsuchii
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Suzuki