Isolierung und Charakterisierung Antipyrin-abbauender Bakterien / Isolation and Characterization of Antipyrine-degrading Bacteria

Abstract

Abstract Five different strains of bacteria ultilizing antipyrine as sole source of carbon were isolated from soil. It was shown by morphological and physiological examinations, that the new isolates are closely related to strains selected with the herbicide chloridazon. A ll of these bacteria are charac­ terized by special features and cannot be classified according to Bergey’s Manual of Determinative Bacteriology. Part of the strains which were selected with antipyrine not only grow with antipyrine but also with chloridazon. The others cannot be grown on chloridazon. However, resting cells of the latter group convert chloridazon to its catechol derivative (5-amino-4-chloro-2 (2,3-dihydroxyphenyl) -3 (2H)-pyridazinone). In these bacteria a catechol-2,3-dioxygenase (catechol: oxygen 2,3-oxido-reductase, EC 1.13.11.2) was found which readily catalyzes the cleavage of the catechol derivative of antipyrine (2,3-dimethyl-l-(2,3-dihydroxyphenyl)-pyrazolone (5)). The enzyme shows only slight activity with the corresponding derivative of chloridazon.