Pseudomonas sp. strains C4, C5, and C6 utilize carbaryl as the sole source of carbon and energy. Identification of 1-naphthol, salicylate, and gentisate in the spent media; whole-cell O 2 uptake on 1-naphthol, 1,2-dihydroxynaphthalene, salicylaldehyde, salicylate, and gentisate; and detection of key enzymes, viz, carbaryl hydrolase, 1-naphthol hydroxylase, 1,2-dihydroxynaphthalene dioxygenase, and gentisate dioxygenase, in the cell extract suggest that carbaryl is metabolized via 1-naphthol, 1,2-dihydroxynaphthalene, and gentisate. Here, we demonstrate 1-naphthol hydroxylase and 1,2-dihydroxynaphthalene dioxygenase activities in the cell extracts of carbaryl-grown cells. 1-Naphthol hydroxylase is present in the membrane-free cytosolic fraction, requires NAD(P)H and flavin adenine dinucleotide, and has optimum activity in the pH range 7.5 to 8.0. Carbaryl-degrading enzymes are inducible, and maximum induction was observed with carbaryl. Based on these results, the proposed metabolic pathway is carbaryl 3 1-naphthol 3 1,2-dihydroxynaphthalene 3 salicylaldehyde 3 salicylate 3 gentisate 3 maleylpyruvate.Carbamate insecticides, such as carbaryl (1-naphthyl-Nmethylcarbamate), are highly toxic, have a wide range of activity, and comprise a major portion of pesticides used in the agriculture industry. Widespread and repeated use leads to pollution of soil and groundwater (5). The ester bond between N-methylcarbamic acid and 1-naphthol is responsible for carbaryl toxicity. Carbamates are competitive inhibitors of neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors and acetylcholinesterase (28). N-Nitrosocarbamates and the 1-naphthol that they generate are potent mutagens and are more toxic and recalcitrant than carbaryl itself (8,22,26,27,32). Carbamate pesticides generally do not persist in the environment for a long time. In aqueous solutions, carbaryl hydrolyzes to 1-naphthol, methylamine, and CO 2 (30). Bacteria capable of degrading carbamate pesticides have been isolated from the soil (3,6,7,13,16,25). The first step in degradation is the hydrolysis of carbaryl to 1-naphthol by carbaryl hydrolase, which has been purified and characterized from various organisms (3,5,10,11,20,24). Depending on the strain, 1-naphthol is metabolized via salicylate to either gentisate or catechol (4,7,9,16,17). It has been proposed that prior to ring cleavage, 1-naphthol is hydroxylated either to 4-hydroxy-1-tetralone (1), 3,4-dihydro-dihydroxy-1(2H)-naphthalenone (31), or 1,4-naphthoquinone (25). Though 1-naphthol, salicylate, and gentisate are well-established intermediates in carbaryl degradation, the steps and enzymes responsible for the conversion of 1-naphthol to salicylate have not been demonstrated so far.In this study, we report isolation of three soil bacterium Pseudomonas sp. strains, C4, C5, and C6, utilizing carbaryl as the carbon source via 1-naphthol, salicylate, and gentisate. The aim of this study is to investigate the catabolic pathway and its regulation, with emphasis on the enzymes involved in the conversion of 1-naphthol to ...