Effect of starvation and chloramphenicol on acceleration of bacterial dihexyl sulfosuccinate biotransformation.

Starvation for carbon and energy sources accelerated the biotransformation of the anion-active surfactant dihexyl sulfosuccinate (DHS) by Comamonas terrigena cells. Chloramphenicol (Cm) added at different time intervals to non-starved cells inhibited the DHS transformation. The largest difference between cells treated and non-treated by Cm was observed for a 16-h-starvation period. Protein synthesis de novo during starvation enhanced the DHS biotransformation efficiency. A partial transformation of DHS in the presence of Cm indicated the constitutive character of enzymes involved in primary DHS biodegradation.