Catechol is a highly toxic compound that is also a key intermediate in biodegradation pathways of various aromatic compounds. In this paper, a new screening method for isolation of microorganisms with the potential for catechol biodegradation is reported. The method described is based on the ability of catechol to form a color complex with Fe 3+ ions. For this purpose, basal medium that is widely used for classification of microorganisms by carbon requirements was used. Specifically, minimal Bushnell Haas medium plates supplemented with catechol at 500 mg l −1 concentration were used for both yeast and bacteria cultivation. After appearance of microorganism colonies on the growth medium, each plate was flooded with 7.0 ml of 5% (w/v) of FeCl 3 and incubated for a period of 5 min at room temperature. Flooding with this solution led to the formation of a green color from Fe 3+ -catechol complexes in the growth medium and an appearance of clear zones around colonies of microorganisms that utilize catechol as a sole source of carbon. Based on this, the presented method could be useful as a screening step for microorganisms with a potential for catechol biodegradation. A new screening method for isolation of microorganisms with the potential for catechol biodegradation has been proposed. The presented method is based on the ability of catechol to form a color complex of catechol and Fe 3+ ions and appearance of clear zone around colonies of microorganisms which utilize catechol. Described method is simple, not labor-intensive, does not require a long period of time to achieve unmistakable results. This method may be also used as a starting point for screening microorganisms with the potential for other aromatic hydrocarbons degradation, in cases when catechol acts like a key intermediate in their biodegradation pathway.

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一种快速简单的筛选具有儿茶酚生物降解潜力的微生物的方法

儿茶酚是一种剧毒化合物，也是各种芳香族化合物生物降解途径中的关键中间体。在本文中，报道了一种用于分离具有儿茶酚生物降解潜力的微生物的新筛选方法。所描述的方法基于儿茶酚与 Fe 3+ 离子形成有色络合物的能力。为此，使用广泛用于按碳需求对微生物进行分类的基础培养基。具体而言，添加了 500 mg l -1 浓度的儿茶酚的最小 Bushnell Haas 培养基板用于酵母和细菌培养。在生长培养基上出现微生物菌落后，用7.0ml 5% (w/v) FeCl 3 淹没每个板并在室温下温育5分钟。用这种溶液淹没导致生长培养基中的 Fe 3+ -儿茶酚复合物形成绿色，并且在利用儿茶酚作为唯一碳源的微生物菌落周围出现清晰的区域。基于此，所提出的方法可用作筛选具有儿茶酚生物降解潜力的微生物的步骤。已经提出了一种用于分离具有儿茶酚生物降解潜力的微生物的新筛选方法。所提出的方法基于儿茶酚形成儿茶酚和 Fe 3+ 离子的颜色复合物的能力以及利用儿茶酚的微生物菌落周围的透明区域的出现。所述方法简单，不费力，不需要很长的时间就能达到无误的效果。