Anaerobic degradation of long-chain alkylamines by a denitrifying Pseudomonas stutzeri

The anaerobic degradation of tetradecylamine and other long-chain alkylamines by a newly isolated denitrifying bacterium was studied. Strain ZN6 was isolated from a mixture of soil and active sludge and was identified as representing Pseudomonas stutzeri, based on partial 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. Strain ZN6 was a mesophilic, motile, Gram-negative rod-shaped bacterium and was able to grow on a variety of compounds including even-numbered primary fatty amines with alkyl chains ranging from C(4) to C(18) coupled to nitrate reduction. Alkylamines were used as sole carbon, energy and nitrogen source and were completely mineralized. Nitrate was dissimilated by ZN6 to nitrite. When strain ZN6 was grown under nitrate limitation, nitrite was slowly dissimilated further. When cocultivated with the complete denitrifier Castellaniella defragens ZN3, anaerobic degradation under denitrifying of alkylamines by strain ZN6 was slightly faster. Strain ZN3 is a complete denitrifier, unable to convert tetradecylamine, and was copurified from the same enrichment culture as strain ZN6. The proposed pathway for the degradation of alkylamines in strain ZN6 starts with C-N cleavages to alkanals and further oxidation to the corresponding fatty acids.