SOME OBSERVATIONS ON OXIDATION OF GLUCOSE BY ENZYMES IN SOIL IN PRESENCE OF TOLUENE

Changes in glucose concentrations were slight on incubation in a system of fresh soils, buffer, and toluene at 37°C and were not significantly detectable by a titrimetric method. Such changes would be too small to affect the accuracy of assays of enzymes hydrolysing carbohydrates in soil where activities are measured by glucose production. Oxygen uptake was slight but increased significantly when glucose was added to four undried soils incubated with toluene; uptake was greater at 37°C than at 24°C. Numbers of viable bacteria declined during incubation. Oxidation of glucose was negligible in a similar system with air-dried soils. Gluconic acid and 2-ketogluconic acid were identified as metabolic products from glucose incubated with soils and toluene. There was an approximate equivalence of oxygen uptake and acid production after incubation for 24 hours but not after longer periods. In the absence of toluene, both gluconic and 2-ketogluconic acids were readily metabolised by soils on incubation at 37°C. Results suggest that glucose oxidase and gluconate dehydrogenase are present in soils but that only a small proportion of glucose would be metabolised by oxidase activity in soils under natural conditions. Other oxidoreductase enzymes would also be active in soils. © 1968 Martinus Nijhoff.