Propachlor degradation by a soil bacterial community.

Soil from a pesticide disposal site was used to enrich for microorganisms that degraded the acylanilide herbicide propachlor (2-chloro-N-isopropylacetanilide). After seven transfers of the enrichment, the culture contained about six strains. The highest yield of microbial biomass occurred if just two of these isolates, strains DAK3 and MAB2, were inoculated into a mineral salts medium containing propachlor. When only strain DAK3 was grown on propachlor, a metabolite (2-chloro-N-isopropylacetamide) was released into the medium. Strain MAB2 could grow on this metabolite. The results of morphological and physiological tests suggest that strains DAK3 and MAB2 most closely resemble species belonging to the genera Moraxella and Xanthobacter, respectively. Strain DAK3 can respire and grow on N-substituted acylanilides containing methyl, ethyl, or isopropyl substitutions, but is incapable of respiration or growth on acetanilide, aniline, or the acylanilide herbicides alachlor and metolachlor. Strain DAK3 appears to use the aromatic C atoms of propachlor for growth, as suggested by the growth yield on propachlor and the induction of catechol 2,3-oxygenase activity in acylanilide-grown cells.     

Propachlor degradation by a soil bacterial community.

Soil from a pesticide disposal site was used to enrich for microorganisms that degraded the acylanilide herbicide propachlor (2-chloro-N-isopropylacetanilide). After seven transfers of the enrichment, the culture contained about six strains. The highest yield of microbial biomass occurred if just two of these isolates, strains DAK3 and MAB2, were inoculated into a mineral salts medium containing propachlor. When only strain DAK3 was grown on propachlor, a metabolite (2-chloro-N-isopropylacetamide) was released into the medium. Strain MAB2 could grow on this metabolite. The results of morphological and physiological tests suggest that strains DAK3 and MAB2 most closely resemble species belonging to the genera Moraxella and Xanthobacter, respectively. Strain DAK3 can respire and grow on N-substituted acylanilides containing methyl, ethyl, or isopropyl substitutions, but is incapable of respiration or growth on acetanilide, aniline, or the acylanilide herbicides alachlor and metolachlor. Strain DAK3 appears to use the aromatic C atoms of propachlor for growth, as suggested by the growth yield on propachlor and the induction of catechol 2,3-oxygenase activity in acylanilide-grown cells.     

Utilization of cutin by a pseudomonad isolated from soil

Summary A Pseudomonas sp., which has been isolated from orchard soil, is able to utilize cutin as a sole source of carbon. Products obtained from the culture filtrate corresponded to that obtained by alkaline hydrolysis of cutin.     

Deoxycholic acid degradation by a Pseudomonas sp. Acidic intermediates with A-ring unsaturation.

The microbial catabolism of deoxycholic acid by a Pseudomonas sp. was studied, and six further acidic intermediates were isolated, as their methyl esters. Evidence is presented that the compounds are methyl 12 alpha-hydroxy-3-oxochol-4-en-24-oate, methyl 12 alpha-hydroxy-3-oxo-23,24-dinorchol-4-en-22-oate, methyl 12 alpha-hydroxy-3-oxochola-1,4-dien-24-oate, methyl 12 alpha-hydroxy-3-oxo-23,24-dinorchola-1,4-dien-22-oate, methyl 12 alpha-hydroxy-3-oxochola-1,4,22E-trien-24-oate and methyl 12 alpha-hydroxy-3-oxo-23,24-dinorchola-1,4,17(20)-trien-22-oate. On the basis of these compounds, together with the seven intermediates previously reported, a catabolic pathway is proposed.     

Mass spectrometric mapping of the enzymes involved in the phenol degradation of an indigenous soil pseudomonad

The enzymes involved in the degradation of phenol by a new soil bacterium referred as Pseudomonas sp. strain phDV1 were characterized. The key enzyme catalyzing the second step in the phenol degradation meta-cleavage pathway, catechol 2,3-dioxygenase (C23O), was isolated using sucrose density centrifugation and anion exchange chromatography. The purified C23O was detected and identified by absorption spectroscopy and peptide mapping. Further, the Pseudomonas sp. strain phDV1 proteome was monitored under different growth substrate conditions, using glucose or phenol as sole carbon and energy source. Sucrose density centrifugation was used to collect and concentrate the cell fraction exhibiting C23O activity and to reduce the complexity of the total protein mixture. 1-DE Tricine PAGE electrophoresis separation in combination with MALDI-TOF MS was attempted for the identification of the proteins involved in the metabolic pathway. We found a different expression of 19 proteins depending on the growth substrate (phenol or glucose) and 10 were identified as enzymes involved in the phenol degradation.     

Purification and properties of benzoate-4-hydroxylase from a soil pseudomonad.

Benzoate-4-hydroxylase from a soil pseudomonad was isolated and purified about 50-fold. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of this enzyme preparation showed one major band and one minor band. The approximate molecular weight of the enzyme was found to be 120,000. Benzoate-4-hydroxylase was most active around pH 7.2. The enzyme showed requirements for tetrahydropteridine as the cofactor and molecular oxygen as the electron acceptor. NADPH, NADH, dithiothreitol, β-mercaptoethanol, and ascorbic acid when added alone to the reaction mixture did not support the hydroxylation reaction to any significant extent. However, when these compounds were added together with tetrahydropteridine, they stimulated the hydroxylation. This stimulation is probably due to the reduction of the oxidized pteridine back to the reduced form. This enzyme was activated by Fe²⁺ and benzoate. It was observed that benzoate-4-hydroxylase could catalyze the oxidation of NADPH in the presence of benzoate,p-aminobenzoate, p-nitrobenzoate, p-chlorobenzoate, and p-methylbenzoate, with only benzoate showing maximum hydroxylation. Inhibition studies with substrate analogs and their kinetic analysis revealed that the carboxyl group is involved in binding the substrate to the enzyme at the active center. The enzyme catalyzed the conversion of 1 mol of benzoate to 1 mol of p-hydroxybenzoate with the consumption of slightly more than 1 mol of NADPH and oxygen.     

Metabolism of 4-chloro-2-methylphenoxyacetate by a soil pseudomonad. Preliminary evidence for the metabolic pathway

1. A pseudomonad capable of utilizing the herbicide 4-chloro-2-methylphenoxyacetate as a sole carbon source was isolated from soil and cultured in liquid medium. 2. Analysis of induction patterns of 4-chloro-2-methylphenoxyacetate-grown cells suggests that 5-chloro-o-cresol and 5-chloro-3-methylcatechol are early intermediates in the oxidation of 4-chloro-2-methylphenoxyacetate. Cells were not adapted to oxidize 4-chloro-6-hydroxy-2-methylphenoxyacetate. 3. In culture, 4-chloro-2-methylphenoxyacetate rapidly disappeared and the chlorine in the molecule was quantitatively released as Cl(-) ion. 4. A lactone (gamma-carboxymethylene-alpha-methyl-Delta(alphabeta)-butenolide) was isolated from cultures and established as an intermediate. 5. The following metabolic pathway is suggested: 4-chloro-2-methylphenoxyacetate --> 5-chloro-o-cresol --> 5-chloro-3-methylcatechol --> cis-cis-gamma-chloro-alpha-methylmuconate --> gamma-carboxymethylene-alpha-methyl-Delta(alphabeta)-butenolide --> gamma-hydroxy-alpha-methylmuconate. 6. The tentative identification of 5-chloro-o-cresol, a gamma-chloro-alpha-methylmuconate and gamma-hydroxy-alpha-methylmuconate in culture extracts supports this scheme. However, the catechol was never observed to accumulate in cultures. 7. The detection of 4-chloro-6-hydroxy-2-methylphenoxyacetate, 2-methyl-phenoxyacetate, a dehalogenated cresol and oxalate in culture extracts is discussed in relation to the proposed metabolic pathway.     

Modeling trichloroethylene degradation by a recombinant pseudomonad expressing toluene ortho-monooxygenase in a fixed-film bioreactor

Burkholderia cepacia PR123(TOM23C), expressing constitutively the TCE-degrading enzyme toluene ortho-monooxygenase (Tom), was immobilized on SIRANtrade mark glass beads in a biofilter for the degradation and mineralization of gas-phase trichloroethylene (TCE). To interpret the experimental results, a mathematical model has been developed which includes axial dispersion, convection, film mass-transfer, and biodegradation coupled with deactivation of the TCE-degrading enzyme. Parameters used for numerical simulation were determined from either independent experiments or values reported in the literature. The model was compared with the experimental data, and there was good agreement between the predicted and measured TCE breakthrough curves. The simulations indicated that TCE degradation in the biofilter was not limited by mass transfer of TCE or oxygen from the gas phase to the liquid/biofilm phase (biodegradation limits), and predicts that improving the specific TCE degradation rates of bacteria will not significantly enhance long-term biofilter performance. The most important factors for prolonging the performance of biofilter are increasing the amount of active biomass and the transformation capacity (enhancing resistance to TCE metabolism). Copyright 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Production of the siderophore aerobactin by a halophilic pseudomonad.

A bacterial strain, isolated from a cyanobacterial culture, was identified as Pseudomonas sp. strain X40. Under iron-limiting conditions, the Pseudomonas sp. produced aerobactin, a dihydroxamate siderophore previously found only in the family Enterobacteriaceae. Aerobactin was identified by electrophoretic mobility, spectrophotometric titration, proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, acid hydrolysis, and biological activity. Aerobactin was used as a siderophore in the Pseudomonas sp. and Escherichia coli. Two iron-repressed outer membrane proteins were observed in the Pseudomonas sp., neither of which had electrophoretic mobility identical to that of the aerobactin outer membrane receptor protein from E. coli. DNA hybridization assays showed no hybridization to the aerobactin genes from the E. coli plasmid pColV, indicating that the genetic determinants for aerobactin production by Pseudomonas strain X40 differ substantially from those found in the archetypic enteric plasmid pColV-K30.     

Production of the siderophore aerobactin by a halophilic pseudomonad.

A bacterial strain, isolated from a cyanobacterial culture, was identified as Pseudomonas sp. strain X40. Under iron-limiting conditions, the Pseudomonas sp. produced aerobactin, a dihydroxamate siderophore previously found only in the family Enterobacteriaceae. Aerobactin was identified by electrophoretic mobility, spectrophotometric titration, proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, acid hydrolysis, and biological activity. Aerobactin was used as a siderophore in the Pseudomonas sp. and Escherichia coli. Two iron-repressed outer membrane proteins were observed in the Pseudomonas sp., neither of which had electrophoretic mobility identical to that of the aerobactin outer membrane receptor protein from E. coli. DNA hybridization assays showed no hybridization to the aerobactin genes from the E. coli plasmid pColV, indicating that the genetic determinants for aerobactin production by Pseudomonas strain X40 differ substantially from those found in the archetypic enteric plasmid pColV-K30.     

The microbial degradation of azimsulfuron and its effect on the soil bacterial community

AIMS: Azimsulfuron is a recently introduced sulfonylurea herbicide useful in controlling weeds in paddy fields. To date very little information is available on the biodegradation of this pesticide and on its effect on the soil microbial community. The aim of this work was to study its biodegradation both in slurry soil microcosms and in batch tests with mixed and pure cultures. METHODS AND RESULTS: Azimsulfuron was applied to forest bulk soil in order to study its effect on the structure of the bacterial soil community, as detectable by denaturant gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) analyses. Biodegradation and abiotic processes were investigated by HPLC analyses. In addition, a microbial consortium was selected, that was able to use azimsulfuron as the sole energy and carbon source. One of the metabolites produced by the consortium was isolated and identified through LC-MS analyses. Cultivable bacteria of the consortium were isolated and identified by 16S rDNA sequencing (1400 bp). CONCLUSIONS: Azimsulfuron treatment seems to have the ability to cause changes in the bacterial community structure that are detectable by DGGE analyses. It is easily biodegraded both in microcosms and in batch tests, with the formation of an intermediate that was identified as 2-methyl-4-(2-methyl-2H-tetrazol-5-yl)-2H-pyrazole-3-sulfonamide. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: The study increases the knowledge on the biodegradation of azimsulfuron and its effects on the soil microbiota.     

Anaerobic degradation of flavonoids by Clostridium orbiscindens

An anaerobic, quercetin-degrading bacterium was isolated from human feces and identified as Clostridium orbiscindens by comparative 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis. The organism was tested for its ability to transform several flavonoids. The isolated C. orbiscindens strain converted quercetin and taxifolin to 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid; luteolin and eriodictyol to 3-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)propionic acid; and apigenin, naringenin, and phloretin to 3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)propionic acid, respectively. Genistein and daidzein were not utilized. The glycosidic bonds of luteolin-3-glucoside, luteolin-5-glucoside, naringenin-7-neohesperidoside (naringin), quercetin-3-glucoside, quercetin-3-rutinoside (rutin), and phloretin-2'-glucoside were not cleaved. Based on the intermediates and products detected, pathways for the degradation of the flavonol quercetin and the flavones apigenin and luteolin are proposed. To investigate the numerical importance of C. orbiscindens in the human intestinal tract, a species-specific oligonucleotide probe was designed and tested for its specificity. Application of the probe to fecal samples from 10 human subjects proved the presence of C. orbiscindens in 8 out of the 10 samples tested. The numbers ranged from 1.87 x 10(8) to 2.50 x 10(9) cells g of fecal dry mass(-1), corresponding to a mean count of 4.40 x 10(8) cells g of dry feces(-1).