Microbial hydrolysis of methyl aromatic esters by Burkholderia cepacia isolated from soil

A bacterial strain that could utilise methyl benzoate as the sole source of carbon and energy was isolated from soil. This strain was identified as a Burkholderia cepacia. In minimum mineral medium, the strain hydrolysed the methyl ester to form benzoic acid, which is then also degraded. This strain was also able to hydrolyse the ester bond of substituted chlorobenzoic esters and methyl thiophene-2-carboxylate, but did not metabolise their reaction products. A crude enzymatic extract obtained from this strain was relatively stable, and hydrolysed more compounds than the microorganism itself: for instance, methyl 3-(N,N-diethylsulfamoyl)thiophene-2-carboxylate was hydrolysed by the enzyme but not by the microorganism. The bacterial strain was unable to hydrolyse the ester bond of two sulfonylurea herbicides, thifensulfuron methyl and metsulfuron methyl, in solution or after reintroduction in sterile soil.