Cometabolic isoterpinolene formation from isolimonene by denitrifying Alcaligenes defragrans

Alcaligenes defragrans strains denitrify on monoterpenes with an unsaturated hydrocarbon structure. a new cometabolic reaction, the formation of isoterpinolene from isolimonene, was detected in cultures that grew on a monoterpene. The biotransformation of isolimonene, a monocyclic monoterpene with a sp(3)-hybridized C1 atom of the menthane skeleton, contrasts with the complete mineralization of monoterpenes with a sp(2)-hybridized C1 atom. This selectivity indicates a demand for a sp(2)-hybridized C1 atom as structural property for monoterpenes that can be oxidized by A. defragrans. (C) 1998 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved