Microbial formation and degradation of dimethylamine

Dimethylamine was formed from trimethylamine in soils of different pH values. The rate of disappearance of the secondary amine from soil was affected by pH and was markedly reduced under anaerobiosis. The accumulation of dimethylamine in cultures of Micrococcus sp. provided with trimethylamine depended on the nitrogen sources available to the bacterium but was not greatly influenced by the C-N ratio of the medium. Dimethylamine and nitrite accumulated in large amounts at pH 6.0 to 8.0 in cultures containing the tertiary amine and nitrate, but dimethylnitrosamine was apparently not produced.