BACTERIAL TRANSFORMATION OF PYRENE IN A MARINE-ENVIRONMENT

The bacterial transformation of pyrene in an estuary environment, Kiti mat Arm, British Columbia, Canada, was studied. A metabolite was separ ated from marine sediment and pore water samples and was id entified a s cis-4,5-dihydroxy-4,5-dihydropyrene, based on a comparison of the me tabolite with the authentic standard, by using both high-performance l iquid chromatography and capillary gas chromatography with mass spectr ometry detection. The presence of this key metabolite of dioxygenase-m ediated transformation of pyrene, along with previous pyrene degradati on studies using cultures isolated from the same sediment samples, sug gests a possible in situ bacterial transformation of pyrene in the Kit imat Arm environment.