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Updated: Feb 28, 2026

Isolation, Propagation, and Identification of Bacterial Species with Hydrocarbon Metabolizing Properties from Aquatic Habitats
Published on: December 7, 2021
Co-metabolic formation of substituted phenylacetic acids by styrene-degrading bacteria
Michel Oelschlägel1, Stefan R Kaschabek1, Juliane Zimmerling1
1Interdisciplinary Ecological Center, Environmental Microbiology Group, TU Bergakademie Freiberg, Leipziger Str. 29, 09599 Freiberg, Germany.
Abstract:
Some soil bacteria are able to metabolize styrene via initial side-chain oxygenation. This catabolic route is of potential biotechnological relevance due to the occurrence of phenylacetic acid as a central metabolite. The styrene-degrading strains Rhodococcus opacus 1CP, Pseudomonas fluorescens ST, and the novel isolates Sphingopyxis sp. Kp5.2 and Gordonia sp. CWB2 were investigated with respect to their applicability to co-metabolically produce substituted phenylacetic acids. Isolates were found to differ significantly in substrate tolerance and biotransformation yields. Especially, P. fluorescens ST was identified as a promising candidate for the production of several phenylacetic acids. The biotransformation of 4-chlorostyrene with cells of strain ST was shown to be stable over a period of more than 200 days and yielded about 38 mmolproduct gcelldryweight-1 after nearly 350 days. Moreover, 4-chloro-α-methylstyrene was predominantly converted to the (S)-enantiomer of the acid with 40% enantiomeric excess.
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