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Appl. Environ. Microbiol., Aug 1997, 3170-3175, Vol 63, No. 8
Copyright © 1997, American Society for Microbiology

Anaerobic Degradation of m-Cresol by a Sulfate-Reducing Bacterium

KL Londry, PM Fedorak and JM Suflita
Department of Botany and Microbiology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma 73019, and Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2E9

m-Cresol metabolism under sulfate-reducing conditions was studied with a pure culture of Desulfotomaculum sp. strain Groll. Previous studies with a sulfate-reducing consortium indicated that m-cresol was degraded via an initial para-carboxylation reaction. However, 4-hydroxy-2-methylbenzoic acid was not degraded by strain Groll, and no evidence for ring carboxylation of m-cresol was found. Strain Groll readily metabolized the putative metabolites of a methyl group oxidation pathway, including 3-hydroxybenzyl alcohol, 3-hydroxybenzaldehyde, 3-hydroxybenzoic acid, and benzoic acid. Degradation of these compounds preceded and inhibited m-cresol decay. 3-Hydroxybenzoic acid was detected in cultures that received either m-cresol or 3-hydroxybenzyl alcohol, and trace amounts of benzoic acid were detected in m-cresol-degrading cultures. Therefore, we propose that strain Groll metabolizes m-cresol by a methyl group oxidation pathway which is an alternate route for the catabolism of this compound under sulfate-reducing conditions.

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