• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.264-269
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• 1998

Commamonas acidovorans SMN4 showed wide growth substrate spectra for various aromatic hydrocarbons. Strain SMN4 was able to grow on biphenyl producing a meta-cleavage compound, yellow 2-hydroxy-6-oxophenylhexa-2,4-dienoic acid with a spray of 2,3-dihydroxybiphenyl, while it also grew on catechol, developing yellow 2- hydroxymucoic semialdehyde with a spray of 100 mM catechol. Thus these results indicate that two-ring structures of biphenyl were cleaved by meta-mode in upper and lower pathways. Strain SMN4 metabolized various substituted biphenyl compounds and xylene to the corresponding benzoate derivatives through oxidation of the ring structures. It was clearly shown that biphenyl can be a common inducer in the oxidation of biphenyl and 2,3-dihydroxybiphenyl. Various compounds were examined for their suitability to serve as substrates for indole oxidation, indicating that biphenyl, benzoate, and succinate are quite good inducers of indigo production due to the activity of biphenyl dioxygenase. This results suggest that indigo formation is by means of the combined activities of biphenyl dioxygenase and tryptophanase.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.172-175
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• 2002

The complete nucleotide sequence of the nahC gene from Pseudomonas fluorescens, the structural gene for 1,2-dihydroxynaphthalene (1,2-DHN) dioxygenase, was determined. The 1,2-DHN dioxygenase is an extradiol ring-cleavage enzyme that cleaves the first ring of 1,2-dihydroxynaphthalene. The amino acid sequence of the dioxygenase deduced from the nucleotide sequence suggested that the holoenzyme consists of eight identical subunits with a molecular weight of approximately 34,200. The amino acid sequence of 1,2-DHN dioxygenase showed more than $90\%$ homology with those of the dioxygenases of other Pseudomonas strains. However, sequence similarity with those of the Sphingomonas species was less than $60\%$. The nahC gene of P. fluorescens was moderately expressed in E. coli NM522, as determined by enzymatic activity.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.659-663
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• 2009

Bacterial stain 3Y was isolated from a site that was contaminated with diesel for more than 15 years. The strain could grow on various petroleum using hydrocarbons as the sole carbon source. The strain grew not only on aliphatic hydrocarbons but also on aromatic hydrocarbons. 3Y grew on aliphatic petroleum hydrocarbons hexane or hexadecane, and aromatic petroleum hydrocarbons BTEX, phenol, biphenyl, or phenanthrene. The strain showed aromatic ring dioxygenase and meta-cleavage dioxygenase activities as determined by tests using indole and catechol. Aromatic ring dioxygenase is involved in the initial step of biodegradation of aromatic hydrocarbons while meta-cleavage dioxygenase catalyzes the cleavage of the benzene ring. Based on a nucleotide sequence analysis of its 16S rRNA gene, 3Y belongs to the genus Sphingomonas. A phylogenetic tress was constructed based on the nucleotide sequences of closest relatives of 3Y and petroleum hydrocarbon degrading sphingomonads. 3Y was in a cluster that was different from the cluster that contained well-known sphingomonads. The results of this study suggest that 3Y has the potential to cleanup oil-contaminated sites. Further investigation is warranted to optimize conditions to degrade petroleum hydrocarbons by the strain to develop a better bioremediation strategy.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.245-245
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• 2002

Catabolic pathways for the degradation of various aromatics by Sphingomonas yanoikuyae Bl are intertwined, joining at the level of substituted benzoates, which are further degraded vita ring cleavage reactions. The mutant strain EK497, which was constructed by deleting a large DNA region containing most of the genes for biphenyl, naphthalene, m-xylene, and m-toluate degradation, was unable to grow on all of the aromatics tested except for benzoate as the sole source of carbon and energy.S. yanoikuyae EK497 was found to possess only catechol ortho-ring cleavage activity due to deletion of the genes for the meta-cleavage pathway. Wild-type S. yanoikuyae Bl grown on benzoate has both catechol orthoand meta-cleavage activity. However, m-xylene and m-toluate, which are metabolized through methylbenzoate, and biphenyl, which is metabolized through benzoate, induce only the meta-cleavage pathway, suggesting the presence of a substrate-dependent induction mechanism.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.325-330
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• 2005

Rhodococcus sp. strain YU6 was isolated from soil for the ability to grow on o-xylene as the sole carbon and energy source. Unlike most other o-xylene-degrading bacteria, YU6 is able to grow on p-xylene. Numerous growth substrate range experiments, in addition to the ring-cleavage enzyme assay data, suggest that YU6 initially metabolizes 0- and p-xylene by direct aromatic ring oxidation. This leads to the formation of dimethylcatechols, which was further degraded largely through meta-cleavage path-way. The gene encoding meta-cleavage dioxygenase enzyme was PCR cloned from genomic YU6 DNA using previously known gene sequence data from the o-xylene-degrading Rhodococcus sp. strain DK17. Subsequent sequencing of the 918-bp PCR product revealed a $98\%$ identity to the gene, encoding meth-ylcatechol 2,3-dioxygenase from DK17. PFGE analysis followed by Southern hybridization with the catechol 2,3-dioxygenase gene demonstrated that the gene is located on an approximately 560-kb megaplasmid, designated pJY J1

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.245-249
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• 2000

Catabolic pathways for the degradation of various aromatics by Sphingomonas yanoikuyae Bl are intertwined, joining at the level of substituted benzoates, which are further degraded vita ring cleavage reactions. The mutant strain EK497, which was constructed by deleting a large DNA region containing most of the genes for biphenyl, naphthalene, m-xylene, and m-toluate degradation, was unable to grow on all of the aromatics tested except for benzoate as the sole source of carbon and energy.S. yanoikuyae EK497 was found to possess only catechol ortho-ring cleavage activity due to deletion of the genes for the meta-cleavage pathway. Wild-type S. yanoikuyae Bl grown on benzoate has both catechol orthoand meta-cleavage activity. However, m-xylene and m-toluate, which are metabolized through methylbenzoate, and biphenyl, which is metabolized through benzoate, induce only the meta-cleavage pathway, suggesting the presence of a substrate-dependent induction mechanism.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.37-46
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• 2004

The analysis of enzymes associated with metabolism of phenolics by Stenotrophomonas maltophilia LK-24 was conducted. To identify metabolites of phenol and phenol compound, we investigated enzymes of S. maltophilia LK-24 associated with degradation of phenolics. We found that phenol hydrolase, catechol-2.3-dioxygenase, 2-hydroxymuconic semialdehyde dehydrogenase, 2-hydroxymuconic semialdehyde hydroxylase and acetaldehyde dehydrogenase were activated. The results showed that phenolics were gone through the meta-pathway ring cleavage. The results will contribute greatly to understand metabolic pathways of phenol and it is possible to make some assessment of the feasibility of using S. maltophilia LK-24 for the treatments of phenolic-contaminated waste streams.

• BMB Reports
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.399-404
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• 1999

2,3-Dihydroxybiphenyl 1,2-dioxygenase (2,3-DHBD), which catalyzes the ring meta-cleavage of 2,3-dihydroxybiphenyl, is encoded by the phnQ gene of biphenyl- and phenanthrene-degrading Pseudomonas sp. strain DJ77. We determined the nucleotide sequence of a DNA fragment of 1497 base pairs which included the phnQ gene. The fragment lncluded an open reading frame of 903 base pairs to accommodate the enzyme. The predicted amino acid sequence of the enzyme subunit consisted of 300 residues. In front of the gene, a sequence resembling an E. coli promoter was identified, which led to constitutive expression of the cloned gene in E. coli. The deduced amino acid sequence of the PhnQ enzyme exhibited 85.6% identity with that of the corresponding enzyme in Sphingomonas yanoikuyae Q1 (formerly S. paucimobilis Q1) and 22.1% identity with that of catechol 1,2,3-dioxygenase from the same DJ77 strain. PhnQ showed broader substrate preference than previously-cloned PhnE, catechol 2,3-dioxygenase. Ten amino acid residues, considered to be important for the role of extradiol dioxygenases, were conserved.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.111-114
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• 2000

Streptomyces are widespread in nature and play a very important role in the biosynthesis as well as biodegradation of natural and unnatural aromatic compounds. Both qualitatively and quantitatively through TLC and UV spectrophotometric assays, it was observed that the thermophilic soil bacteria S. setonii (ATCC 39116), which can utilize a benzoate as a sole carbon and energy source in a minimal liquid culture, was not very sensitive to the benzoate concentation and to the culture conditions such as the pH and temperature. The in vitro conversion of a catechol to a cis, cis-muconic acid by a crude S. setonii lysate implies that the aromatic ring cleavage by S. setonii is initiated by a thermostable catechol-1,2-dioxygenase, the key enzyme in the ortho-cleavage pathway of aromatic compound biodegradation. Unlike non-degrading S. lividans, S.setonii was also highly resistant to other similar hazardous aromatic compounds, exhibiting almost no adverse effect on its growth in a complex liquid culture.

• Journal of Microbiology
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.86-89
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• 2002

Rhodococcus sp. strain T104, which is able to grow on either biphenyl or limonene, was found to utilize phenol as sole carbon and energy sources. Furthermore, T104 was positively identified to possess three separate pathways for the degradation of limonene, phenol, and biphenyl. The fact that biphenyl and limonene induced almost the same amount of catechol 1,2-dioxygenase activity indicates that limonene can induce both upper and lower pathways for biphenyl degradation by T104.