No abstract

Arihrobacter oxydans 317 which is able to bring about the complete degradation of 8-sitosterol was treated with acridine orange to obtain a plasmid cured strain Arthrobacter 31 7AL, incapable of producing steroid ring degradation. The strain was neither able to form 4-androstene-3,l 7-dione(AD) from 1-sitosterol nor to convert AD to 1,4-androstadiene-3,17-dione(ADD). It was, however, able to hydroxylate AD and ADD at the C-17 position to form testosterone and 1 ,Candrostadiene-l7~-0l-3-one respectively. The strain could grow on psitosterol presumably utilizing the degradation products of the sterol side chain. Partial degradation of the p-sitosterol side chain was demonstrated by the isolation of 27-norcholest-4-en-3,24-dione, a metabolic product of the side chain degradation. The existence of metabolic blocks in a further degradation of the side chain to AD, in 1,2-dehydrogenation and 9a-hydroxylation of the steroid ring structure was postulated.

A Facile Transfer of Dicyanomethylene Group Between Arylidenemalononitrile and Aldehyde.-Arylidenemalononitriles (II) undergo facile exchange of dicyanomethylene group with β-formyl steroidal enamide (I) as well as aromatic aldehydes (IV) under mild base catalyzed conditions. -(AHMED, S.; SARMAH, U.; LONGCHAR, M.; BORUAH, R. C.; SANDHU, J.