Summary
The restriction of oxygen transfer in Ca-alginate beads used for the immobilization of microbial cells was applied to a coupled reductive and oxidative microbial degradation of the xenobiotic 4-chloro-2-nitrophenol (CNP). The conversion of CNP by Enterobacter cloacae under anaerobic conditions led to the formation of 4-chloro-2-aminophenol (CAP, 81%) and 4-chloro-2-acetaminophenol (CAAP, 16%) after 50 h incubation. CAP, the main reduction product, was further degraded under aerobic conditions by Alcaligenes sp. TK-2, a hybrid strain isolated by conjugative in-vivo gene transfer. Whereas both degradation steps excluded one another in homogeneous systems with free cells, a coupled reductive and oxidative degradation of CNP was observed in one aerated reactor system after co-immobilization of both strains in Ca alginate. The diameter of the alginate beads used for immobilization was recognized as one main factor determining the properties of this mixed culture system.
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Beunink, J., Rehm, HJ. Coupled reductive and oxidative degradation of 4-chloro-2-nitrophenol by a co-immobilized mixed culture system. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 34, 108–115 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00170933
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00170933