Isolation and identification of a morpholine-degrading bacterium. [Mycobacterium aurum]

A gram-positive, slowly growing rod effectively utilizing morpholine as the sole source of organic carbon, nitrogen, and energy was isolated from a mixed culture in a laboratory reactor. The strain was tentatively identified as Mycobacterium aurum. Its growth characteristics at 20/sup 0/C and pH 6.5 were as follows: maximum specific growth rate, 0.052 h/sup -1/; half-velocity constant, 1.3 mg/liter; and yield, 0.37 g/g. The optimum temperature and pH were 31/sup 0/C and 6.0, respectively.