Abstract
Scedosporium sp. A-4 used gaseous hydrocarbons as a sole source of carbon and energy, and oxidation of the gaseous hydrocarbons was studied with propane-grown resting mycelia of this organism. The gaseous n-alkanes (C2 to C4) were oxidized to their corresponding primary alcohols and secondary alcohols by the resting mycelia. Methane was not oxidized. Propylene was oxidized but not used for growth. In the primary oxidative reaction of gaseous n-alkanes, an incorporation experiment of 18O2 gas demonstrated that one atom of molecular oxygen is incorporated into them. The oxidation of the gaseous hydrocarbons was inhibited by carbon monoxide, potassium cyanide, sodium azide, and Hg2+.
