Organotin compounds, tributyltin (TBT) and triphenyltin (TPT), tolerance of bacteria isolated from coastal seawater area and a few rivers and a swamp was examined. No relationship was found between bacterial organotin compounds tolerance and the organotin compounds contamination of ambient waters inhabiting these bacteria. Nine genera and 1 family bacteria such as Pseudomonas, Alteromonas and Enterobacteriaceae showed high organotin compounds tolerance ratios, whereas those of 2 genera bacteria

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... such as Staphylococcus and Flavobacterium were low. Organotin compounds tolerance for a bacterium belonging to the same genus, however, was different for a variety reasons. Furthermore, organotin biosorption and biodegradation abilities of the above bacteria were investigated by using particle induced X-ray emission (PIXE) analysis and pyrocatechol violet (PV) assay method, respectively. Five strains of organotin compounds tolerant bacteria showed high TPT uptake and/or absorption ratios. The value for Enterobacteriaceae was markedly higher than those of the others. A high TPT degradation ability was found in one strain (Pseudomonas or Alteromonas) in these bacteria.