Complete mineralisation of dimethylformamide by Ochrobactrum sp. DGVK1 isolated from the soil samples collected from the coalmine leftovers

A bacterial strain DGVK1 capable of using N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) as sole source of carbon and nitrogen was isolated from the soil samples collected from the coalmine leftovers. The molecular phylogram generated using the complete sequence of 16S rDNA of the strain DGVK1 showed close links to the bacteria grouped under Brucellaceae family that belongs to alphaproteobacteria class. Specifically, the 16S rDNA sequence of strain DGVK1 has shown 97% similarity to Ochrobactrum anthropi LMG 3331 (D12794). This bacterium has also shown impressive growth on dimethylamine, methylamine, formaldehyde and formate that are considered to be the prominent catabolic intermediates of DMF. DMF degradation has led to the accumulation of ammonia and dimethylamine contributing to the increase of pH of the medium. The DMF-grown resting cells of Ochrobactrum sp. DGVK1 have also contributed for the release of ammonia when resting cell suspension was added to phosphate buffer containing DMF. Similar experiments done with the glucose-grown cultures have not produced ammonia and thus indicating the inducible nature of DMF-degrading enzymes in Ochrobactrum sp. DGVK1. Further, dimethylformamidase, dimethylamine dehydrogenase and methylamine dehydrogenase, the key enzymes involved in the degradation of DMF, were assayed, and the activities of these enzymes were found only in DMF-grown cultures further confirming the inducible nature of the DMF degradation. Based on these results, DMF degradation pathway found in Ochrobactrum sp. DGVK1 has been proposed

Crystal Structure of 5-Amino-1-(2,4,6-trichlorophenyl)-1H-pyrazole-4-carbonitrile

The title compound, 5-amino-1-(2,4,6-trichlorophenyl)-1H-pyrazole-4-carbonitrile, C10H5Cl3N4, crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group, Pca21, with two independent molecules (A and B) in the unit cell, and cell parameters a = 12.9035(2), b = 14.3155(2), c = 12.8187(2)Å, α = β = γ = 90.0°, Z = 8. The dihedral angle between the mean planes of the trichlorophenyl and pyrazole groups is 87.3(4)° (A) and 79.3(9)° (B), respectively. Intermolecular hydrogen bonding N-H…N interactions and crystal packing effects influence the twist angle between these two groups

Growth, characterization, crystal and molecular structure studies of 1-(2 `-thiophen)-3-(2,3,5-trichlorophenyl)-2-propen-1-one

1-(2'-Thiophen)-3-(2,3,5-trichlorophenyl)-2-propen-1-one (TTCP) was synthesized by Claisen-Schmidt condensation reaction. FT-IR spectra were recorded to identify the functional groups present in the compound. The NLO test carried out on the sample using Z-scan technique confirms the existence of nonlinearity in the third harmonic generation. Further, the compound is characterized by UV-visible spectral studies for the optical transmission. Finally, the structure of the product obtained was confirmed by the X-ray diffraction studies. The compound crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P2(1)/c with a 16.6170(6) angstrom, b = 7.6180(5) angstrom, c = 10.9280(11) angstrom and beta = 104.635(3)degrees. The thiophene ring shows planar conformation and is affected by it conjugation. The unsaturated keto group is in + syn-periplanar conformation. The molecule exhibits both inter and intramolecular hydrogen bonds of the type C-H center dot center dot center dot O and C-H center dot center dot center dot Cl which can account for the stability of the molecule. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Biodegradation of diethyl phthalate in soil by a novel pathway

Biodegradation of diethyl phthalate (DEP) has been shown to occur as a series of sequential steps common to the degradation of all phthalates. Primary degradation of DEP to phthalic acid (PA) has been reported to involve the hydrolysis of each of the two diethyl chains of the phthalate to produce the monoester monoethyl phthalate (MEP) and then PA. However, in soil co-contaminated with DEP and MeOH, biodegradation of the phthalate to PA resulted in the formation of three compounds, in addition to MEP. These were characterised by gas chromatography-electron ionisation mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance as ethyl methyl phthalate, dimethyl phthalate and monomethyl phthalate, and indicated the existence of an alternative pathway for the degradation of DEP in Soil co-contaminated with MeOH. Transesterification or demethylation were proposed as the mechanisms for the formation of the three compounds, although the 7:1 ratio of H2O to MeOH means that transesterification is unlikely. (C) 2000 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved