Degradation of pyridine and 4-methylpyridine by Gordonia terrea IIPN1

Gordonia terrea IIPN1 was isolated and characterized from soils collected at petroleum drilling sites. The strain was able to catabolize pyridine and 4-methylpyridine as sole carbon and nitrogen source. The strain failed to catabolize other pyridine derivatives. Growing cells completely degraded 30 mM of pyridine in 120 h with growth yield of 0.29 g g(-1). Resting Cells grown on 5 mM pyridine degraded 4-methylpyridine without a lag time and vice versa. Supplementary carbon and nitrogen source did not significantly change the specific growth rate and degradation rate by the resting cells.