Isolation from soil and growth characteristics of the tetramethylthiuram disulfide (TMTD) Degrading strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Abstract

A bacterial strain, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, isolated from soil was found to have the ability to utilize tetramethylthiuram disulfide (TMTD) as its sole source of carbon and energy. The combined use of glucose and yeast extract in the culture increased the rate of TMTD degradation in minimal medium. An actively growing culture of this isolate was able to degrade more than 97% of TMTD, present at 300 ppm, within 96 hours of incubation. The bacterial isolate also utilized dimethylamine, α‐ketoglutarate and methionine, which are the degradation products of TMTD.