Isolation of a Pseudomonas aeruginosa Strain Capable of Degrading Acrylamide

A new strain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa growing in a rice field contaminated with herbicide and effluents of a factory manufacturing explosives was isolated. This isolate showed excellent growth in unusually high concentration of acrylamide (60 mM). It utilized acrylamide as the sole source of carbon and nitrogen for growth. Other amides such as acetamide, butyramide, isobutyramide, and methacrylamide were also utilized for the growth by this isolate. Acrylamide was degraded into acrylic acid and ammonia by the enzyme amidase. More than $65\%$ of added acrylamide (40 mM) was converted into acrylic acid after 40 h of growth of the culture. Amidase activity was inducible, the highest activity being observed with isobutyramide ($12.5{\mu}M$ ammonia/mg protein/min). These results demonstrate that this bacterium can degrade a variety of amides.