Dimerization of ferulic and caffeic acids by purified peroxidase isolated from Bupleurum salicifolium callus culture

A novel peroxidase that catalyses the transformation of caffeic acid and ferulic acid via oxidative coupling was purified from callus cultures of Bupleurum salicifolium petioles. The enzyme, which was purified over 2,900-fold, is a glycoprotein with a molecular weight of 38,000, determined by SDS/PAGE and gel filtration. The K(m) values obtained were 2.4x10(-4) M for caffeic and 2.6x10(-4) M for ferulic acid, while the K(m) values for H2O2 with caffeic acid was 4x10(-5) M and for H2O2 with ferulic acid was 4.8x10(-4) M. The purified peroxidase exhibits lower activity with typical peroxidase substrates (guaiacol and pyrogallol) than it does with caffeic and ferulic acids, but does not exhibit any activity with other phenylpropanoids tested (cinnamic acid, coumaric acid, and 3,4-dimethoxycinnamic acid).     

Metabolism of cinnamic, p-coumaric, and ferulic acids by Streptomyces setonii

Streptomyces setonii strain 75Vi2 was grown at 45 degrees C in liquid media containing yeast extract and trans-cinnamic acid, p-coumaric acid, ferulic acid, or vanillin. Gas chromatography, thin-layer chromatography, and mass spectrometry showed that cinnamic acid was catabolized via benzaldehyde, benzoic acid, and catechol; p-coumaric acid was catabolized via p-hydroxybenzaldehyde, p-hydroxybenzoic acid, and protocatechuic acid; ferulic acid was catabolized via vanillin, vanillic acid, and protocatechuic acid. When vanillin was used as the initial growth substrate, it was catabolized via vanillic acid, guaiacol, and catechol. The inducible ring-cleavage dioxygenases catechol 1,2-dioxygenase and protocatechuate 3,4-dioxygenase were detected with an oxygen electrode in cell-free extracts of cultures grown in media with aromatic growth substrates and yeast extract.     

Polymerization of pentachlorophenol and ferulic acid by fungal extracellular lignin-degrading enzymes.

High-molecular-weight polymers were produced by a crude concentrated supernatant from ligninolytic Phanerochaete chrysosporium cultures in a reaction mixture containing pentachlorophenol and a humic acid precursor (ferulic acid) in the presence of a detergent and H2O2. Pure manganese peroxidase, lignin peroxidase, and laccase were also shown to catalyze the reaction.     

Transformation of ferulic acid by soil bacteria Nocardia provides various valuable phenolic compounds

Nocardia autotrophica was grown in a medium containing ferulic acid and ¹⁴C-ferulic acid, labelled in various parts of a particle as a main carbon source. After incubation, the products were analyzed by thin layer, high performance liqid and gas chromatography and by IR and NMR spectra methods. The products detected were caffeic acid, catechol, coniferyl alcohol, eugenol, guaiacol, hydrocaffeic acid, isoeugenol, isoferulic acid, isovanillic acid, p-hydroxybenzoic acid, protocatechuic acid and aldehyde, vanillic acid, and vinylguaiacol. A liberation of ¹⁴CO₂ during cultivation was noticed.     

Comparative Removal of Bentazon by Ganoderma lucidum in Liquid and Solid State Cultures

Bentazon removal by Ganoderma lucidum cultured in liquid and solid state conditions was compared in this work. In solid state cultures, the fungus produced both ligninolytic enzymes, namely laccase and Mn peroxidase. In liquid cultures, the main ligninolytic enzyme produced was laccase. In both types of cultures bentazon improved the production of laccase without significant alteration in the production of Mn peroxidase. In solid state cultures, where high levels of both laccase and Mn peroxidase activities were found, the fungus was more resistant to the action of the herbicide (50 mM in solid state cultures against 20 mM in liquid cultures) and more efficient in removing bentazon (90% removal against 55% in liquid cultures after 10 days of cultivation). Furthermore, the solid state culture filtrates were more efficient in the in vitro degradation of bentazon than the liquid culture filtrates. These observations suggest that both enzymes, laccase and Mn peroxidase, are involved in bentazon degradation. The results further suggest that solid state cultures of Ganoderma lucidum could be useful in strategies designed to reduce environmental contamination by bentazon.     

New aspects of co-regulation of decarboxylation and demethylation activities in Nocardia

Vanillic acid at 0.2% concentration in the medium of Nocardia autotrophic DSM 43100 leads to cyclic production of guaiacol; protocatechuic and p-hydroxybenzoic acids as well as catechol appear at the same time in the medium instead of isovanillic acid, which accumulates at lower vanillic acid concentration. Transformation of catechol formed into guaiacol by methylation with formaldehyde, and successively into protocatechuic acid by carboxylation seems possible. Successive reactions of methylation/demethylation and carboxylation/decarboxylation result in cyclic production of guaiacol.     

Purification and properties of S-adenosyl-L-methionine: caffeic acid O-methyltransferase from leaves of spinach beet (Beta vulgaris L).

1. An enzyme catalysing the methylation of caffeic acid to ferulic acid, using S-adenosyl-L-methionine as methyl donor, has been extracted from leaves of spinach beet and purified 75-fold to obtain a stable preparation. 2. The enzyme showed optimum activity at pH 6.5, and did not require the addition of Mg2+ for maximum activity. 3. It was most active with caffeic acid, but showed some activity with catechol, protocatechuic acid and 3,4-dihydroxybenzaldehyde. The Km for caffeic acid was 68 muM. 4. 4. The Km for S-adenosyl-L-methionine was 12.5 muM. S-Adenosyl-L-homocystein (Ki = 4.4 muM) was a competitive inhibitor of S-adenosyl-L-methionine. 5. The synthesis of S-adenosyl-L-homocysteine from adenosine and L-homocysteine and its consequent effect on caffeic acid methylation were demonstrated with a partially-purified preparation from spinach-beet leaves, which possessed both S-adenosyl-L-homocysteine hydrolase (EC 3.3.1.1) and adenosine nucleosidase (EC 3.2.2.7) activities. This preparation was also able to catalyse the rapid breakdown of S-adenosyl-L-homocysteine to adenosine and adenine; the possible significance of this reaction in relieving the inhibition of caffeic acid methylation by S-adenosyl-L-homocystein is discussed.     

Uptake and accumulation of the herbicide bentazon by cultured plant cells

Cellular absorption of the herbicide bentazon, a weak acid with pK_a 3.45, was investigated using suspension-cultured cells of velvetleaf (Abutilon theophrasti Medic.). Bentazon accumulated rapidly to concentrations approximately four times that of the external medium. Bentazon accumulation against a concentration gradient was not due to its conversion to metabolites, partitioning into lipids, or binding onto cellular constituents. Bentazon uptake was related linearly to the external bentazon concentration, implying that movement of the herbicide into cells was not carrier-mediated. Bentazon was able to diffuse freely and extensively out of the cells, indicating that bentazon can readily diffuse across cell membranes. Potassium cyanide and carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenyl hydrazone inhibited bentazon accumulation as did nitrogen gas when bubbled through the uptake medium. Absorption was pH-dependent with the greatest amount of bentazon accumulating at acidic external pH. Calculations indicated that conversion of uncharged bentazon to bentazon anion in the cytoplasm accounts for cellular accumulation of bentazon. These results provide evidence that bentazon is absorbed across membranes via simple diffusion and that bentazon accumulates in plant cells via an energy-dependent, ion-trapping mechanism which results in bentazon accumulation in the cytoplasm.     

Purification and characterization of an extracellular laccase from the edible mushroom Lentinula edodes,and decolorization of chemically different dyes

A laccase (EC 1.10.3.2) was isolated from the culture filtrate of Lentinula edodes. The enzyme was purified to a homogeneous preparation using hydrophobic, anion-exchange, and size-exclusion chromatographies. SDS-PAGE analysis showed the purified laccase, Lcc 1, to be a monomeric protein of 72.2 kDa. The enzyme had an isoelectric point of around pH 3.0. The optimum pH for enzyme activity was around 4.0, and it was most active at 40 degrees C and stable up to 35 degrees C. The enzyme contained 23.8% carbohydrate and some copper atoms. The enzyme oxidized 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt, p-phenylendiamine, pyrogallol, guaiacol, 2,6-dimethoxyphenol, catechol, and ferulic acid, but not veratryl alcohol, tyrosine, and beta-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl) alanine. The N-terminal amino acid sequence of Lcc 1 showed close homology to the N-terminal sequences determined for laccases from Phlebia radiata, Trametes villosa, and Trametes versicolor, but only low similarity was observed to a previously reported laccase from L. edodes. Lcc 1 was effective in the decolorization of chemically different dyes - Remazole Brilliant Blue R, Bromophenol Blue, methyl red, and Naphtol Blue Black - without any mediators, but the decolorization of two dyes - red poly(vinylamine)sulfonate-anthrapyridone dye and Reactive Orange 16 - did require some redox mediators.     

A pH-stable laccase from alkali-tolerant γ-proteobacterium JB: Purification, characterization and indigo carmine degradation

γ-Proteobacterium JB, an alkali-tolerant soil isolate, produced laccase constitutively in unbuffered medium. The enzyme was purified to homogeneity by ammonium sulphate precipitation, DEAE-sepharose anion exchange chromatography and preparatory polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The purified enzyme was a monomeric polypeptide (MW 120 kDa) and absorbed at 590 nm indicating the presence of Type I Cu²⁺-centre. It worked optimally at 55 °C and showed different pH optima for different substrates. The enzyme was highly stable in the pH range 4–10 even after 60 days at 4 °C. K_m and V_max values for syringaldazine, catechol, pyrogallol, p-phenylenediamine, l-methyl DOPA and guaiacol substrates were determined. Inhibitors, viz. azide, diethyldithiocarbamate, thioglycollate and cysteine-hydrochloride all inhibited laccase non-competitively using guaiacol as substrate at pH 6.5. The enzyme degraded indigo carmine (pH 9, 55 °C) to anthranilic acid via isatin as determined spectrophotometrically and by HPLC analysis. Degradation was enhanced in the presence of syringaldehyde (571%), vanillin (156%) and p-hydroxybenzoic acid (91.6%) but not HOBT.     

Some Characteristics and Inhibitors of Indoleacetic Acid Oxidase from Tissue 2

Extracts from tissue cultures of crown-gall from Parthenocissuscatalysed the destruction of indoleacetic acid in vitro withoptimum activity at pH 4·5. The presence of two co-factors,Mn⁺⁺ and 2,4-dichlorophenol, was necessary for this activity,which was found to be strictly aerobic. Chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, scopoletin, ferulic acid, andgibberellic acid markedly inhibited IAA-destruction. Chlorogenicacid inhibition was reversed by the addition of H₂O₂. Chlorogenicacid was not oxidized by the IAA-destroying system and did notbehave as a competitive inhibitor. The IAA-oxidase extract manifested peroxidase and phenolaseactivity with catechol and pyrogallol as substrates. However,this activity was greater at pH 7·0 than at the optimumfor IAA-oxidase activity, pH 4·5. Further evidence ofthe existence of these two enzymes in the intact tissue wasdemonstrated by histochemical studies. In tissue slices, peroxidaseactivity was very high and widely distributed while phenolaseactivity was low and restricted to localized centres of thetissue.     

Degradation of labelled lignins and veratrylglycerol-beta-guaiacyl ether by Acinetobacter sp

Acinetobacter sp. evolved 14CO2 from 14C-(ring)DHP lignin and 14C-teakwood lignin. Veratrylglycerol-beta-guaiacyl ether, a lignin model compound with beta-o-4 linkage was cleaved by Acinetobacter sp. Veratrylglycerol-beta-guaiacyl ether into 2(o-methoxyphenoxy) ethanol and veratrylalcohol 2(o-methoxyphenoxy) ethanol was degraded to guaiacol and then to catechol whereas veratrylalcohol was converted to veratraldehyde, veratric acid, vanillic acid, protocatechuic acid and catechol. Both catechol 1,2-dioxygenase and protocatechuate 3,4-dioxygenase were detected in veratrylglycerol-beta-guaiacyl ether grown cultures.     

Oxidation of hydroxycinnamic acid and hydroxycinnamyl alcohol derivatives by laccase and peroxidase. Interactions among p-hydroxyphenyl,guaiacyl and syringyl groups during the oxidation reactions

Fungal laccase oxidized derivatives of hydroxycinnamic acid. The rates decreased in the order sinapic acid > ferulic acid ≥p-coumaric acid. The laccase oxidized sinapyl alcohol faster than coniferyl alcohol. The rates of oxidation of the hydroxycinnamic acid derivatives by an isoenzyme of peroxidase from horseradish decreased in the order p-coumaric acid > ferulic acid ≥ sinapic acid. The peroxidase oxidized coniferyl alcohol much faster than sinapyl alcohol. The laccase and the peroxidase predominantly oxidized (a) ferulic acid in a reaction mixture that contained p-coumaric acid and ferulic acid, (b) sinapic acid in a mixture of p-coumaric acid plus sinapic acid, and (c) sinapic acid in a mixture of ferulic acid plus sinapic acid. In a reaction mixture that contained both coniferyl and sinapyl alcohols, both fungal laccase and horseradish peroxidase predominantly oxidized sinapyl alcohol. From these results, it is concluded (1) that the p-hydroxyphenyl radical can oxidize guaiacyl and syringyl groups and produce their radicals and (2) that the guaiacyl radical can oxidize the syringyl group under formation of its radical; and that (3) in both cases the reverse reactions are very slow.     

Influence of Side-Chain Substituents on the Position of Cleavage of the Benzene Ring by Pseudomonas fluorescens

Pseudomonas fluorescens was grown on mineral salts media with phenol, p-hydroxybenzoic acid, p-hydroxy-phenylacetic acid, or p-hydroxy-trans-cinnamic acid as sole carbon and energy source. Each compound was first hydroxylated, ortho to the hydroxyl group on the benzene ring, to give catechol, protocatechuic acid (3,4-dihydroxy-benzoic acid), homoprotocatechuic acid (3,4-dihydroxy-phenylacetic acid), and caffeic acid (3,4-dihydroxy-trans-cinnamic acid), respectively, as the ultimate aromatic products before cleavage of the benzene nucleus. Protocatechuic acid and caffeic acid were shown to be cleaved by ortho fission, via a 3,4-oxygenase mechanism, to give beta-substituted cis, cis-muconic acids as the initial aliphatic products. However, catechol and homoprotocatechuic acid were cleaved by meta fission, by 2,3-and 4,5-oxygenases, respectively, to give alpha-hydroxy-muconic semialdehyde and alpha-hydroxy-gamma-carboxymethyl muconic semialdehyde as initial aliphatic intermediates. Caffeic acid: 3,4-oxygenase, a new oxygenase, consumes 1 mole of O(2) per mole of substrate and has an optimal pH of 7.0. The mechanism of cleavage of enzymes derepressed for substituted catechols by P. fluorescens apparently changes from ortho to meta with the increasing nephelauxetic (electron donor) effect of the side-chain substituent.     

杂色云芝组成型漆酶Ⅰ的纯化和底物专一性

采用合成培养基培养杂色云芝As5 4 8,从发酵液中纯化出一种组成型漆酶同功酶Ⅰ .经超滤浓缩 ,DEAE SephadexA 5 0离子交换层析 ,Bio gelP 10 0凝胶过滤纯化了该酶 .SDS PAGE分析发现 ,该酶分子量为 6 8kD ,薄层等电聚焦测得等电点为 3 5 .漆酶Ⅰ的底物范围较宽 ,以O2 为电子受体 ,可以氧化多种木素单体模型物 ,包括 2 ,6 二甲氧基酚 ,2 ,2′ 联氮 二 (3 乙基 苯并噻唑 6 磺酸 )(ABTS) ,愈创木酚 ,咖啡酸 ,阿魏酸和邻联茴香胺 .结果表明 ,该酶在木质素的生物降解中可能有重要的作用和应用价值 .     

Structure of a Laccase-Mediated Product of Coupling of 2,4-Diamino-6-Nitrotoluene to Guaiacol, a Model for Coupling of 2,4,6-Trinitrotoluene Metabolites to a Humic Organic Soil Matrix

This work presents laccase-mediated model reactions for coupling of reduced 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) metabolites to an organic soil matrix. The structure of an isolated coupling product of 2,4-diamino-6-nitrotoluene (2,4-DANT) to guaiacol as humic constituent was determined. Among several structures, the compound was identified conclusively to be the trinuclear coupling product 5-(2-amino-3-methyl-4-nitroanilino)-3,3(prm1)-dimethoxy-4,4(prm1)-diphenoqu inone. The compound has a weight of 409 g mol(sup-1) and may serve as a model reaction for the biogenic formation of bound residues in soil from TNT by coupling aminotoluenes (reduced TNT metabolites) to humic constituents. A linear correlation of the substrate consumption to the enzyme activity was detected. Based on this observation, the described reaction of 2,4-DANT coupling to guaiacol may be used for determination of laccase activity since the reaction was not inhibited by other compounds of culture supernatants. We propose a two-step mechanism for the coupling reaction because 2,4-DANT was not transformed by laccases in the absence of guaiacol and guaiacol oxidation was independent of the presence of 2,4-DANT. The first reaction step is a laccase-mediated dimerization of two guaiacol monomers with subsequent oxidation to a diphenoquinone. The second step is the nucleophilic addition of 2,4-DANT to the ortho position of the carbonyl group of the diphenoquinone structure.     

Demethylation of Veratrole by Cytochrome P-450 in Streptomyces setonii

The actinomycete Streptomyces setonii 75Vi2 demethylates vanillic acid and guaiacol to protocatechuic acid and catechol, respectively, and then metabolizes the products by the β-ketoadipate pathway. UV spectroscopy showed that this strain could also metabolize veratrole (1,2-dimethoxybenzene). When grown in veratrole-containing media supplemented with 2,2′-dipyridyl to inhibit cleavage of the aromatic ring, S. setonii accumulated catechol, which was detected by both liquid chromatography and gas chromatography. Reduced cell extracts from veratrole-grown cultures, but not sodium succinate-grown cultures, produced a carbon monoxide difference spectrum with a peak at 450 nm that indicated the presence of soluble cytochrome P-450. Addition of veratrole or guaiacol to oxidized cell extracts from veratrole-grown cultures produced difference spectra that indicated that these compounds were substrates for cytochrome P-450. My results suggest that S. setonii produces a cytochrome P-450 that is involved in the demethylation of veratrole and guaiacol to catechol, which is then catabolized by the β-ketoadipate pathway.     

Metabolism of Ferulic Acid by Paecilomyces variotii and Pestalotia palmarum

Ferulic acid metabolism was studied in cultures of two micromycetes producing different amounts of phenol oxidases. In cultures of the low phenol oxidase producer Paecilomyces variotii, ferulic acid was decarboxylated to 4-vinylguaiacol, which was converted to vanillin and then either oxidized to vanillic acid or reduced to vanillyl alcohol. Vanillic acid underwent simultaneously an oxidative decarboxylation to methoxyhydroquinone and a nonoxidative decarboxylation to guaiacol. Methoxyhydroquinone and guaiacol were demethylated to yield hydroxyquinol and catechol, respectively. Catechol was hydroxylated to pyrogallol. Degradation of ferulic acid by Paecilomyces variotii proceeded mainly via methoxyhydroquinone. The high phenol oxidase producer Pestalotia palmarum catabolized ferulic acid via 4-vinylguaiacol, vanillin, vanillyl alcohol, vanillic acid, and methoxyhydroquinone. However, the main reactions observed with this fungus involved polymerization reactions.