Biodegradation of indole at high concentration by persolvent fermentation with Pseudomonas sp. ST-200

Pseudomonas sp. strain ST-200 grew on indole as a sole carbon source. The minimal inhibitory concentration of indole was 0.3 mg/ml for ST-200. However, ST-200 grew in a persolvent fermentation system containing a large amount of indole (a medium containing 20% by vol. diphenylmethane and 4 mg/ml indole), because most of the indole was partitioned in the organic solvent layer. When the organism was grown in the medium containing indole at 1 mg/ml in the presence of diphenylmethane, more than 98% of the indole was consumed after 48 h. Isatic acid (0.4 mg/ml) and isatin (0.03 mg/ml) were produced as the metabolites in the aqueous medium layer. Received: September 12, 1996 / Accepted: January 2, 1997