Pseudomonas fluorescens

nas incognita have been previously described as being able to utilize citronellol, geraniol, and linalool (3, 6). Recently, a 50-megadalton (MDa) plasmid has been associated with the degradation of geraniol (9). In this report we describe the isolation of a Pseudomonas fluorescens s train capable of utilizing linalool as a sole carbon and energy source and demonstrate the presence of a transmissible plasmid that specifies its degradation. Soil samples were obtained from the area surrounding a waste treatment lagoon from a turpentine processor. The soil samples were inoculated into a minimal salts medium (7) for Mating experiments were accomplished by the method of Olsen (4). The donors were auxotrophs obtained through mutagenesis with 1-methyl-3-nitro-l-nitrosoguanidine (Sigma Chemical Co., St. Louis, Mo.) by the procedure de. scribed by Vandenbergh et al. (8). The strains P. fluorescens PFL7.1(pSRQ60, pSRQ41) and PFL7.2 (pSRQ60, pSRQ41) were mated with recipient Pseudomonas putida PP0208. P. putida PP0208 is a plasmid-free strain which is unable to utilize linalool. The transconjugant P. putida PP0208(pSRQ60) was then successfully mated with P. putida PPU2.(pSRQ50, pSRQ80). The recipient i11 this mating is a commercial strain that degrades geraniol, a component of CITROX (Microlife Technics), and is unable