TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - BIOLOGY - Preferred Species: The strain belongs to Variovorax paradoxus. It is Variovorax paradoxus JV-1 which has a deposit number DSM 14357, or Variovorax paradoxus CL-3 which has deposit number DSM 14433.Preferred Process: The degradation process comprises fermenting with the bacterial population comprising either of the 2 strains of Variovorax. The compounds of ethyl tert-butyl ether, tert-amyl methyl ether, diisopropyl ether, diethylether, methyl tert-butyl ether, and tert-butyl alcohol containing solutions are fermented. EXAMPLE - Isolation and characterization of the strains Strains of the invention were isolated from an active sludge by selective enrichment with methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) as the sole source of carbon and energy. MTBE (10 microlitres) and 50 ml of sludge were added to a 1 litre gas-tight flask with 50 ml of CLM medium (1 g K2HPO4.3H2O, 0.25 g NaH2PO4.2H2O, 0.1 g (NH4)2SO4, 0.05 g MgSO4.7H2O and Ca(NO3)2.4H2O in 1 litre of distilled or deionized water) containing 10 mg/litre of yeast extract and incubated stationary at 22 degrees Centigrade. After disappearance of the substrate (four months) more MTBE was added. After six months 40 ml of this mixed enrichment culture was suspended in 60 ml of CLM medium containing yeast extract, trace elements and MTBE (10 microlitres) and incubated stationary at 22 degrees Centigrade (one month), diluted 1:5 (vol/vol) with CLM medium containing MTBE (10 microlitres/100 ml), trace elements and vitamins and incubated until visibly turbid. The culture, designated as CL-EMC-1, was maintained with transfer intervals of 1.5-2 months using MTBE as the sole source of carbon and energy. An attempt to isolate strains using MTBE or tert butyl alcohol (TBA) as their sole source of carbon and energy failed at this state. After 3 years the mixed enrichment culture CL-EMC-1 was adapted to 200 mg/l of MTBE by periodic (1 5 days) reinoculations for 4 months.    This culture, which utilized MTBE as the sole source of carbon and energy up to 1.5 g/l, was now plated onto CLM agar with MTBE. Isolated colonies were tested for the ability to grow in CLM agar with MTBE. Colonies grown on the plates were streaked pure by serial dilutions of single colonies on CLR agar (1 g Soy pepton, 0.2 g trypton and 0.2 g yeast extract in 1 litre of CLM medium with 1.5 to 2.0% (wt/vol) of Bacto-Agar, Difco Laboratories, Detroit, USA). One isolated pure strain was designated JV-1 and it utilized MTBE as its sole carbon and energy source.    Twenty ml of CL-EMC-1 culture was added to a 1 litre gas-tight flask with 80 ml of CLM medium containing 0.05 g/l of TBA, trace elements and vitamins and incubated stationary at 22 degrees Centigrade. After disappearance of the substrate (two weeks) more TBA was added. After a month 20 ml of this culture was diluted 1:10 (vol/vol) with CLM medium containing TBA (0.1 g/l) and incubated on a gyratory shaker at 152 rpm at 28 degrees Centigrade until turbid (7 days). This procedure was repeated three times. Then the culture was plated on CLM agar containing 0.05 g 1-1 of TBA at 22 degrees Centigrade. Isolated colonies were tested for the ability to grow in CLM medium with TBA as the sole source of carbon and energy.    Colonies grown on the plates were streaked pure by serial dilutions of single colonies on CLR agar. One isolated pure strain, designated CL-3, utilized TBA up to 7 g/l. Two isolated strains, JV-1 and CL-3 were identified by DSMZ (Deutsche Sammlung von Mikroorganismen und Zellkulturen GmbH, Braunschweig, Germany). Both the strains have the characteristics of the species Variovorax paradoxus. They are gram negative bacteria having rod like cells, width 0.5-0.7 microns and length 1.5-3.0 microns. The partial sequences of the 16SrDNA show a similarity of 99.3% to Variovorax, the other similarities being much lower. The profiles of the cellular fatty acids and the data of the physiological tests clearly confirmed this result.