Microbial Degradation of the Ferrichrome Compounds.

An unidentified Pseudomonas capable of growth on ferrichromes as sole sources of carbon and nitrogen was isolated by enrichment culture on ferrichrome A. The spectral shifts observed for the culture supernatant fluids and the degradation products which accumulated in the culture media during growth on these compounds indicated that initially the cyclic peptide rings are broken to yield simpler hydroxamates. These simpler hydroxamates were then deacylated, perhaps after reduction to the corresponding N-substituted amides.