Isolation and characterization of acetonitrile utilizing bacteria.

Bacteria utilizing high concentrations of acetonitrile as the sole carbon source were isolated and identified as Chromobacterium sp. and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Maximum growth was attained after 96 h of incubation and P. aeruginosa grew slightly faster than Chromobacterium sp. The strains were able to grow and oxidize acetonitrile at concentrations as high as 600 mM. However, higher concentrations inhibited growth and oxygen uptake. Degradation studies with (14C)acetonitrile indicated 57% of acetonitrile was degraded by Pseudomonas aeruginosa as compared to 43% by Chromobacterium. The isolates utilized different nitrile compounds as carbon substrates.