Abstract
Three different molinate (S-ethyl perhydroazepine-1-carbothioate)-degrading microbes isolated from soil, Mycobacterium sp. (B-1), Flavobacteriunm sp. (B-2) and Streptomyces sp. (A-1), were investigated on their substrate specificity and induction of degrading activity for molinate and its related compounds. B-1 and A-1 degraded various chemicals of a broad range, while B-2 degraded rather specific chemicals. The development of the degrading activity was presumed to be caused by the induction of the degrading enzymes in two ways depending on the kind of microbes and compounds: 1) Molinate and its related compounds were degraded by the same or individual but similarly regulated enzyme systems. 2) Molinate and the related compounds were degraded by more than two different enzyme systems. In some of the former cases, molinate and the related compounds induced the activity almost to the same extent, but quite differently in others.
