Soil bacterium Pseudomonas sp.: destroyer of mustard gas hydrolysis products

A bacterial culture capable of utilizing products of mustard gas hydrolysis as a source of carbon was isolated from soil. This culture was tolerant to organochlorine substances in the hydrolysate. The bacterium was identified as Pseudomonas sp. The bacterium utilizes the major product of mustard gas hydrolysis, thiodiglycol, through two pathways. One involves the oxidation of the primary alcoholic groups in thiodiglycol, yielding thiodiglycolic and thioglycolic acids. The cleavage of the C-S bonds in these acids gives rise to acetate, which is then used further in the cell metabolism. The other pathway involves the cleavage of the C-S bond in the thiodiglycol molecule, yielding beta-mercaptoethanol, which is transformed by Pseudomonas sp. into thioglycolic acid. The results show the promise of this bacterium for the bioremediation of mustard gas-contaminated soils.