CYANIDE UTILIZATION IN SOIL

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Abstract
Cyanide carbon and nitrogen were converted to carbonate and ammonia, respectively, in the presence of non-sterile soils. Experiments with doubly labeled cyanide (C14n15) showed that the retention of cyanide nitrogen is greater than that of cyanide carbon. In general, the soils most actively able to metabolize cyanide (on a specific activity basis) were those supporting plants containing cyanogenic glycosides. Attempts to increase the cyanide metabolizing ability of a control soil by pre-treatment with 10-3 M KCN were unsuccessful. This work supports the hypothesis that a cyanide cycle exists in nature and demonstrates that a variety of soils are capable of cyanide metabolism.

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