Abstract
A bacterium that utilizes cyanide as a nitrogen source was isolated from soil after enrichment in a liquid medium containing potassium cyanide (10 mM) and glucose (1.0%, w/v). The strain could tolerate and grow in potassium cyanide at concentrations of up to 25 mM. It could also utilize potassium cyanate, potassium thiocyanate, linamarin and a range of aliphatic and aromatic nitriles. The isolate was tentatively identified as Burkholderia cepacia strain C-3. Ammonia and formic acid were found in the culture supernatant of the strain grown on fructose and potassium cyanide, no formamide was detected, suggesting a hydrolytic pathway for the degradation of cyanide. The cyanide-degrading activity was higher in early and the stationary phase cells. Crude cell extracts of strain C-3 grown on nutrient broth exhibited cyanide-degrading activity. The characteristics of strain C-3 suggest that it would be useful in the bioremediation of cyanide-containing waste.
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Adjei, M.D., Ohta, Y. Isolation and characterization of a cyanide-utilizing Burkholderia cepacia strain. World Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology 15, 699–704 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008924032039
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008924032039