Screening, isolation and taxonomical properties of microorganisms having acrylonitrile-hydrating attivity.

Acrylonitrile-hydrating activity was found in various bacteria belonging to the genera Arthrobacter, Corynebacterium, Microbacterium, Nocardia, Pseudomonas and Rhodococcus.A strain,N-774, isolated by acetonitrile enrichment culture from soil showed the highest activity.Taxonomic studies indicated that strain N-774 belonged to the genus Rhodococcus.The acrylonitrile-hydrating enzyme of strain N-774 was constitutively formed in the cells.Besides acrylonitrile, many nitriles were hydrated to the corresponding amides.«-Butyronitrile, succ inonitrile and chloroacetonitrille served as suitable substrates.This bacterium could utilize many aliphatic nitriles and amides as a sole source of nitrogen but hardly utilized malononitrile, acrylonitrile or acrylamide.Cells having high nitrile hydratase activity (about 50 units/mg of dry cells) could be easily prepared by cultivation at 30°C for 40 hr in a malt extract and yeast extract medium.