[Bacterial destruction of terephthalic acid and its isomers]

A strain of Mycobacterium lacticolum destructing the isomeric aryldicarbonic acids: teraphthalic, isophthalic and phthalic (in decreasing degree) has been selected from bacterial community of terephthalate containing industrial sewage biotreatment. The dominating role of M. lacticolum in microbial community increases during the continuous-flow cultivation under condition of terephthalate concentration increasing. Minor members of microbial community are not able to oxidize terephthalate and utilize it in compound culture, but the community's capacity to attack high concentrations of this substance is much lesser than in case of M. lacticolum.