Responses of Pseudomonas sp. DJ-12 to Pollutant Stresses of Benzoate and 4-Chlorobenzoate

Aromatic hydrocarbons can be utilized as carbon and energy sources by some microorganisms at lower concentrations. However, they can also act as stresses to these organisms at higher concentrations. Pseudomonas sp. DJ-12 is capable of degrading 0.5 mM concentration of benzoate and 4-chlorobenzoate (4CBA). In this study, the exposure of Pseudomonas sp. DJ-12 to the pollutant stresses of benzoate and 4CBA at various concentrations was comparatively studied for its cellular responses, including survival tolerance, degradability of the aromatics, and morphological changes. Pseudomonas sp. DJ-12 utilized 0.5 to 1.0mM benzoate and 4CBA as carbon and energy sources for growth. However, the organism could not degrade the aromatics at concentrations of 3 mM or higher, resulting in reduced cell viability due to the destruction of the cell envelopes. Pseudomonas sp. DJ-12 cells produced stress-shock proteins such as DnaK and GroEL when treated with benzoate and 4CBA at concentrations of 0.5mM, or higher as sublethal dosage; Yet, there were differing responses between the cells treated with either benzoate or 4CBA. 4CBA affected the degradability of the cells more critically than benzoate. The DnaK and GroEL stress-shock proteins were produced either by 1mM benzoate with 5 min treatment or by higher concentrations after 10min. The proteins were also induced by 0.5mM 4CBA, however, it needed at least 20min treatment or longer. These results indicate that the chlorination of benzoate increased the recalcitrance of the pollutant aromatics and changed the conditions to lower concentrations and longer treatment times for the production of stress-shock proteins. of stress-shock proteins produced by the aromatics at sublethal concentrations functioned interactively between the aromatics for survival tolerance to lethal concentrations.