Naphthalene을 유일한 탄소원으로 이용하는 균을 분식 배양과 연속식 배양에 의해서 토양과 폐수로부터 분리하였다. 이 균은 Pseudomonas putida로 동정되었으며, 최적 pH와 온도는 각각 7.0과 3$0^{circ}C$ 이었다. 분리된 균은 1,5-dihydroxynaphthalene을 naphthalene보다 더욱 잘 이용하였으며 benzoate와 salicylate도 이용하였다. 또한 catechol dl meta-분해경로를 통해서 분해되었으며, ampicillin, chloramphenicol, kanamycin, streptomycin에 대해서 강한 저항성을 지니고 있었으며, naphthalene의 분해에 관여하는 약 110kb 크기의 plasmid를 1개 지니고 있었다.
A strain capable of growth on naphthalene minimal medium was isolated from soil by selective enrichment culture and identified as Pseudomonas putida N3 according to its morphological and physiological characteristics. The optimum pH and temperature for growth of the isolate were 7.0 and 3$0^{circ}C$, respectively. This strain was resistant to ampicillin, chloramphenicol, kanamycin and streptomycin but. sensitive to tetracycline and rifampicin. Of the naphthalene related compounds, 1, 5-dihydroxynaphthalene was more easily utilized than naphthalene due to its solubility. And catechol was degraded through meta-cleavage pathway. A 110 Kb plasmid which encodes for a single set of enzymes responsible for the degradation of naphthalene was obtained.
