DENITRATION OF GLYCEROL TRINITRATE BY RESTING CELLS AND CELL-EXTRACTSOF BACILLUS-THURINGIENSIS CEREUS AND ENTEROBACTER-AGGLOMERANS

A number of microorganisms were selected from soil and sediment sample s which were known to have been previously exposed to nitrate ester co ntaminants. The two most effective bacteria for transforming glycerol trinitrate (GTN) were identified as Bacillus thuringiensis/cereus and Enterobacter agglomerans. For both isolates, denitration activities we re expressed constitutively and GTN was not required for induction. Di alysis of cell extracts from both isolates did not affect denitration, which indicates that dissociable and depletable cofactors are not req uired for denitration. With thin-layer chromatography and high-perform ance liquid chromatography, the denitration pathway for both isolates was shown to be a sequential denitration of GTN to glycerol dinitrate isomers, glycerol mononitrate isomers, and ultimately to glycerol. GTN was observed to be completely converted to glycerol during a long-ter m incubation of cell extracts.