Topsoil samples were collected from 36 different paddy fields in West Japan. Each soil sample was incubated with a basal salt-medium containing 0.2% OPPEO. Twelve samples possessed OPPEO-degrading activity, from which twelve cultures of OPPEO-degrading bacteria were isolated. The isolated bacteria grew on a medium containing 0.2% OPPEO as the sole carbon source, and OP2EO and OP3EO were accumulated in the medium under ...