Microbial reduction of cyclohexanone by Chlorella pyrenoidosa chick

Algal transformation of cyclohexanone (C 6ON) was photoautotrophically studied with an axenic strain of Chlorella pyrenoidosa Chick. The algal reduction of C 6ON to cyclohexanol (C 6OL) was confirmed by GC-MS analysis, but C 6OL could not be further transformed by this strain. Three cycloalkanones, cyclopentanone, cycloheptanone, and cyclooctanone, were also converted to their corresponding alcohols in a growing culture of the same strain. The pH of the medium did not influence the algal reduction of C 6ON to C 6OL, although increasing C 6ON concentrations resulted in a decrease in cell growth. The maximum accumulation of C 6OL in growing culture was observed at 0.2% C 6ON.