Abstract.
Mycobacterium austroafricanum IFP 2012 is a Gram-positive strain able to grow on methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) as a sole carbon and energy source. The effect of two downstream metabolites of MTBE, tert-butyl formate (TBF) and tert-butyl alcohol (TBA) on MTBE degradation was investigated using resting cells. The addition of low concentrations of TBF decreased the MTBE degradation rate by about 30%. In contrast, the addition of TBA did not have a significant effect on MTBE degradation rate, even at high concentrations; and it was also shown that TBA degradation occurred only once MTBE was exhausted. At neutral pH, TBF hydrolysis involved mainly an esterase-type activity regulated by the presence of TBA. The TBF degradation rate was about four times lower than the MTBE degradation rate. Furthermore, acetone was identified as an intermediate during TBA degradation. An acetone mono-oxygenase activity, inhibited by methimazole but not by acetylene, was suggested. It was different from the MTBE/TBA mono-oxygenase and, thus, acetone did not appear to compete with MTBE and TBA for the same enzyme. These new results show that the metabolic regulation of the early steps of MTBE degradation by M. austroafricanum IFP 2012 is complex, involving inhibition and competition phenomena.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Achten C, Puttmann W (2000) Determination of methyl tert-butyl ether in surface water by use of solid phase microextraction. Environ Sci Technol 34:1359–1364
Bradley PM, Chapelle FH, Landmeyer JE (2001a) Methyl t-butyl ether mineralization in surface-water sediment microcosms under denitrifying conditions. Appl Environ Microbiol 67:1975–1978
Bradley PM, Landmeyer JE, Chapelle FH (2001b) Widespread potential for microbial MTBE degradation in surface-water sediments. Environ Sci Technol 35:658–662
Clark DD, Ensign SA (1999) Evidence for an inducible nucleotide-dependent acetone carboxylase in Rhodococcus rhodocrous B276. J Bacteriol 181:2752–2758
Deeb RA, Hu HY, Hanson JR, Scow KM, Alvarez-Cohen L (2001) Substrate interactions in BTEX and MTBE mixtures by a MTBE-degrading isolate. Environ Sci Technol 35:312–317
François A, Piveteau P, Fayolle F, Marchal M, Béguin P, Monot F (2001) Selection of a defined mixed culture for MTBE mineralization. In: Magar VS, Gibbs JT, O'Reilly KT, Hyman MR, Leeson A (eds) Bioremediation of MTBE, alcohols, and ethers. Battelle, Columbus, Ohio, pp 153–160
François A, Mathis H, Godefroy D, Piveteau P, Fayolle F, Monot F (2002) Biodegradation of methyl tert-butyl ether and other fuel oxygenates by a new strain, Mycobacterium austroafricanum IFP 2012. Appl Environ Microbiol 68:2754–2762
Garnier PM, Auria R, Augur C, Revah S (1999) Cometabolic biodegradation of methyl t-butyl ether by Pseudomonas aeruginosa grown on pentane. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 51:498–503
Hanson JR, Ackerman CE, Scow KM (1999) Biodegradation of methyl tert-butyl ether by a bacterial pure culture. Appl Environ Microbiol 65:4788–4792
Hatzinger PB, McClay K, Vainberg S, Tugusheva M, Condee CW, Steffan RJ (2001) Biodegradation of methyl tert-butyl ether by a pure bacterial culture. Appl Environ Microbiol 67:5601–5607
Hyman MR (2002) Cometabolism of MTBE by alkane-oxidizing bacteria. In: IFP (ed) Abstracts of the international conference "Microbiology of hydrocarbons: state of the art and perspectives". IFP, Rueil-Malmaison, France p 3
Hyman M, O'Reilly K (1999) Physiological and enzymatic features of MTBE-degrading bacteria. In: Leeson A (ed) In situ bioremediation of petroleum hydrocarbon and other organic compounds. Battelle, Columbus, Ohio, pp 7–12
Hyman M, Taylor C, O'Reilly K (2000) Cometabolic degradation of MTBE by iso-alkane-utilizing bacteria from gasoline impacted soils. In: Magar VS (ed) Bioremediation and phytoremediation of chlorinated and recalcitrant compounds. Battelle, Columbus, Ohio, pp 149–155
Jensen H, Arvin E (1990) Solubility and degradability of the gasoline additive MTBE, methyl tert-butyl ether and gasoline compounds. In: Van Den Brink W (ed) Contaminated soil '90. Kluwer, Dordrecht, pp 445–448
Johnson R, Pankow J, Bender D, Price C, Zogorsky J (2000) MTBE. To what extent will past release contaminate community water supply wells? Environ Sci Technol 34:210A–217A
Kane SR, Beller HR, Legler TC, Koester CJ, Pinkart HC, Halden RU, Happel AM (2001) Aerobic biodegradation of methyl tert-butyl ether by aquifer bacteria from leaking underground storage tank sites. Appl Environ Microbiol 67:5824–5829
Lien H, Zhang W (2001) Catalytic oxidation of methyl tert-butyl ether and tert-amyl methyl ether by bifunctional aluminium in the presence of dioxygen. In: Suidan MT (ed) Remediation of water and soil contaminated with gasoline oxygenates: in situ and ex situ treatment technologies. (ACS symposium series, vol 41) Columbus, Ohio, pp 463–468
Martinez Prado A, Skinner K, Ciuffetti LM, Williamson KJ (2002) MTBE kinetics by n-alkane-grown Mycobacterium vaccae and Graphium sp. In: Batelle (ed) Third international conference "Remediation of chlorinated and recalcitrant compounds", session E9: MTBE characterization and treatment. Batelle, Monterey, USA, pp 20–23
Mo K, Lora CO, Wanken AE, Javanmardian M, Yang X, Kulpa CF (1997) Biodegradation of methyl t-butyl ether by pure bacterial cultures. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 47:69–72
O'Reilly KT, Moir ME, Taylor CD, Smith CA, Hyman MR (2001) Hydrolysis of tert-butyl methyl ether (MTBE) in dilute aqueous acid. Environ Sci Technol 35:3954–3961
Piveteau P, Fayolle F, Vandecasteele JP, Monot F (2001) Biodegradation of tert-butyl alcohol and related xenobiotics by a methylotrophic bacterial isolate. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 55:369–373
Salanitro J (1995) Understanding the limitations of microbial metabolism of ethers used as fuel octane enhancers. Curr Opin Biotechnol 6:337–340
Salanitro J, Diaz L, Williams M, Wisniewski H (1994) Isolation of a bacterial culture that degrades methyl tert-butyl ether. Appl Environ Microbiol 60:2593–2596
Savolainen H, Pfaffli P, Elovaara E (1985) Biochemical effects of methyl tertiary-butyl ether in extended vapour exposure of rats. Arch Toxicol 57:285–288
Sluis MK, Small FJ, Allen JR, Ensign SA (1996) Involvement of an ATP-dependent carboxylase in a CO2-dependent pathway of acetone metabolism by Xanthobacter Strain Py2. J Bacteriol 178:4020–4026
Squillace P, Zogorski J, Wilber W, Price C (1996) Preliminary assessment of the occurrence and possible sources of MTBE in groundwater in the United States, 1993–1994. Environ Sci Technol 30:1721–1730
Steffan RJ, McClay K, Vainberg S, Condee CW, Zhang D (1997) Biodegradation of the gasoline oxygenates methyl tert-butyl ether, ethyl tert-butyl ether, and tert-amyl methyl ether by propane-oxidizing bacteria. Appl Environ Microbiol 63:4216–4222
Steffan RJ, Vainberg S, Condee CW, McClay K, Hatzinger PB (2000) Biotreatment of MTBE with a new bacterial isolate. In: Magar VS (ed) Bioremediation and phytoremediation of chlorinated and recalcitrant compounds. Battelle, Columbus, Ohio, pp 165–173
Swain EJ (1999) U.S. MTBE production at a record high in 1998. Oil Gas J 14:99–101
Taylor DG, Trudgill PW, Cripps RE, Harris PR (1980) The microbial metabolism of acetone. J Gen Microbiol 118:159–170
Tomasi I, Artaud I, Bertheau Y, Mansuy D (1995) Metabolism of polychlorinated phenols by Pseudomonas cepacia AC1100: determination of the first two steps and specific inhibitory effect of methimazole. J Bacteriol 177:307–311
Turini A, Amato G, Longo V, Gervasi PG (1998) Oxidation of methyl- and ethyl-tertiary-butyl ethers in rat liver microsomes: role of the cytochrome P450 isoforms. Arch Toxicol 72:207–214
Acknowledgement.
We thank Darwin Lyew for linguistic advice.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
François, A., Garnier, L., Mathis, H. et al. Roles of tert-butyl formate, tert-butyl alcohol and acetone in the regulation of methyl tert-butyl ether degradation by Mycobacterium austroafricanum IFP 2012. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 62, 256–262 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-003-1268-9
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-003-1268-9