$^{14}C-2$, 6-Diethylaniline을 토양중에서 호기적으로 21 주간 배양시 발생된 $^{14}CO_2$는 살균하지 않은 A토양(clay loam)과 B토양(coarse sandy loam)에서 각각 6.5%와 10.1%이었다. Methanol로 토양을 추출시 A토양에서는 3.1%, B토양에서는 13.5%의 토양방사능이 추출되었다. 토양중에서의 분해산물은 2, 6-diethylacetanilide 이었으며 Chaetomium globosum은 순수배양시 분해산물로 2, 6-diethyl-p-benzoquinone을 생성하였고 이의 생성경로는 2, 6-DEA의 p-hydroxylation, quinoneimine의 형성 그리고 암모니아 발생을 수반하는 가수분해 등으로 제안하였다.
When $^{14}C-2$, 6-Diethylaniline (2, 6-DEA) was incubated aerobically in soil, $^{14}CO_2$ evolved from non-sterile soil A and B was 6.5 and 10.1%, respectively, in the 21st week. Methanol could extract 3.1 and 13.5% of the radioactivity from soil A and B, respectively, 2, 6-Diethylacetanilide was detected as a degradation product in soil. Chaetomium globosum produced 2, 6-diethyl-p-benzoquinone as a degradation product in pure culture. A possible pathway was proposed to include p-hydroxylation of 2, 6-DEA, formation of quinoneimine, and the subsequent hydrolysis with the release of ammonia.
