Isolation and identification of an aerobic γ-HCH-decomposing bacterium from soil

Abstract

We succeeded in isolating an aerobic bacterium, which utilizes γ-HCH as a sole carbon source and can rapidly and completely decompose this substance. This bacterium was isolated from a γ-HCH plot of a long-term experimental upland field where the applied γ-HCH disappeared rapidly within I month. The bacterium was identified as Pseudomonas paucimobilis. It was suggested that the rapid loss of the applied γ-HCH in the upland field was closely related to the presence of the bacterium. In addition, P. paucimobilis had the ability to decompose the applied γ-HCH even in other soils where γ-HCH had never been applied. The pathway of γ-HCH decomposition by P. paucimobilis was found to be rather exceptional in that some chlorophenols were identified as the intermediate products of γ-HCH decomposition.