Cometabolism of Trichloroethylene by a Phenol-Degrading Bacterium, Pseudomonae sp. EL-04J

Pseudomanas sp. EL-04J was previously isolated from phenol-acclimated activated sludge. This bacterium was capable of degrading phenol and cometabolizing trichloroethylene (TCE). After precultivation in the mineral salts medium containing phenol as a sole carbon source, Pseudomonas EL-04J degraded 90% of TCE within 20 hours. Thus, phenol-induced Pseudomonas sp. EL-04J cells can bdegrade TCE. Followsing a transient lag period, Pseudomonas sp. EL-04J cells degraded TCE at concentrations of at least with no apparent retardation in rate, but the transformance capacity of such cells was limited and depended on the cell concentration. The degradation rate of TCE followed the Michaelis-Menten kinetic model. The maximum degradation ratio () and saturation constant () were cell protein and , respectively. Cometabolism of TCE by phenol fed experiment was evaluated in serum vial that contained of meneral sals medium supplemented with TCE degradation was inhibited in the initial period of 1 mM phenol addition, but after that time Pseudomonas sp. EL-04J cells degraded TCE and showed cell growth.