DESCRIPTION OF BACTERIA ABLE TO DEGRADE ISOQUINOLINE IN PURE CULTURE

Isoquinoline is a nitrogen heterocyclic compound that is associated with coal- and oil-derived wastes. Four strains of bacteria able to degrade isoquinoline in pure culture were isolated from sites known to be contaminated with oil. Isoquinoline was used as the sole source of carbon and nitrogen by these isolates. Isoquinoline was initially transformed to 1-hydroxyisoquinoline, which accumulated in the broth culture, and then disappeared. The four strains isolated were Gram negative, aerobic, rod-shaped bacteria with polar flagella. The strains have been presumptively identified as members of the family Comamonadaceae.