METABOLISM OF NITRATE ESTERS BY A CONSORTIUM OF 2 BACTERIA

The products of condensation of organic alcohols and nitric acid are n itrate esters with the general structure C-O-NO2, These products are w idely employed as vasodilators and explosives, and are true xenobiotic compounds, as they do not occur in nature, We have isolated and chara cterized a consortium of two microorganisms, Arthrobacter ilicis and A grobacterium radiobacter, that mineralized recalcitrant ethylene glyco l dinitrate. The Arthrobacter strain was the actual degrading microorg anism, although the second microbe facilitated mineralization. The bio degradation of ethylene glycol dinitrate by A. ilicis involved the pro gressive elimination of the nitro groups from the organic molecule to generate ethylene glycol, which was then mineralized, Waters polluted with ethylene glycol dinitrate have been shown amenable to biological treatment in a pilot plant with wastewaters generated during the synth esis of the chemical in a factory.