Formation of protoanemonin from 2-chloro-cis,cis-muconate by the combined action of muconate cycloisomerase and muconolactone isomerase

Muconate cycloisomerases are known to catalyze the reversible conversion of 2-chloro-cis,cis-muconate by 1,4- and 3,6-cycloisomerization into (4S)-(+)-2-chloro- and (4R/5S)-(+)-5-chloromuconolactone. 2-Chloromuconolactone is transformed by muconolactone isomerase with concomitant dechlorination and decarboxylation into the antibiotic protoanemonin. The low k(cat) for this compound compared to that for 5-chloromuconolactone suggests that protoanemonin formation is of minor importance. However, since 2-chloromuconolactone is the initially predominant product of 2-chloromuconate cycloisomerization, significant amounts of protoanemonin were formed in reaction mixtures containing large amounts of muconolactone isomerase and small amounts of muconate cycloisomerase. Such enzyme ratios resemble those observed in cell extracts of benzoate-grown cells of Ralstonia eutropha JMP134. In contrast, cis-dienelactone was the predominant product formed by enzyme preparations, in which muconolactone isomerase was in vitro rate limiting. In reaction mixtures containing chloromuconate cycloisomerase and muconolactone isomerase, only minute amounts of protoanemonin were detected, indicating that only small amounts of 2-chloromuconolactone were formed by cycloisomerization and that chloromuconate cycloisomerase actually preferentially catalyzes a 3,6-cycloisomerization.     

Conversion of 2-chloro-cis,cis-muconate and its metabolites 2-chloro- and 5-chloromuconolactone by chloromuconate cycloisomerases of pJP4 and pAC27.

2-Chloro-cis,cis-muconate, the product of ortho-cleavage of 3-chlorocatechol, was converted by purified preparations of the pJP4- and pAC27-encoded chloromuconate cycloisomerases (EC 5.5.1.7) to trans-dienelactone (trans-4-carboxymethylenebut-2-en-4-olide). The same compound was also formed when (+)-2-chloro- and (+)-5-chloromuconolactone were substrates of these enzyme preparations. Thus, the pJP4- and pAC27-encoded chloromuconate cycloisomerases are able to catalyze chloride elimination from (+)-5-chloromuconolactone. The ability to convert (+)-2-chloromuconolactone differentiates these enzymes from other groups of cycloisomerases.     

Characterization of catechol catabolic genes from Rhodococcus erythropolis 1CP.

The biochemical characterization of the muconate and the chloromuconate cycloisomerases of the chlorophenol-utilizing Rhodococcus erythropolis strain 1CP previously indicated that efficient chloromuconate conversion among the gram-positive bacteria might have evolved independently of that among gram-negative bacteria. Based on sequences of the N terminus and of tryptic peptides of the muconate cycloisomerase, a fragment of the corresponding gene has now been amplified and used as a probe for the cloning of catechol catabolic genes from R. erythropolis. The clone thus obtained expressed catechol 1,2-dioxygenase, muconate cycloisomerase, and muconolactone isomerase activities. Sequencing of the insert on the recombinant plasmid pRER1 revealed that the genes are transcribed in the order catA catB catC. Open reading frames downstream of catC may have a function in carbohydrate metabolism. The predicted protein sequence of the catechol 1,2-dioxygenase was identical to the one from Arthrobacter sp. strain mA3 in 59% of the positions. The chlorocatechol 1,2-dioxygenases and the chloromuconate cycloisomerases of gram-negative bacteria appear to be more closely related to the catechol 1,2-dioxygenases and muconate cycloisomerases of the gram-positive strains than to the corresponding enzymes of gram-negative bacteria.     

Inability of muconate cycloisomerases to cause dehalogenation during conversion of 2-chloro-cis,cis-muconate.

The conversion of 2-chloro-cis,cis-muconate by muconate cycloisomerase from Pseudomonas putida PRS2000 yielded two products which by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy were identified as 2-chloro- and 5-chloromuconolactone. High-pressure liquid chromatography analyses showed the same compounds to be formed also by muconate cycloisomerases from Acinetobacter calcoaceticus ADP1 and Pseudomonas sp. strain B13. During 2-chloro-cis,cis-muconate turnover by the enzyme from P. putida, 2-chloromuconolactone initially was the major product. After prolonged incubation, however, 5-chloromuconolactone dominated in the resulting equilibrium. In contrast to previous assumptions, both chloromuconolactones were found to be stable at physiological pH. Since the chloromuconate cycloisomerases of Pseudomonas sp. strain B13 and Alcaligenes eutrophus JMP134 have been shown previously to produce the trans-dienelactone (trans-4-carboxymethylene-but-2-en-4-olide) from 2-chloro-cis,cis-muconate, they must have evolved the capability to cleave the carbon-chlorine bond during their divergence from normal muconate cycloisomerases.     

Mechanism of Chloride Elimination from 3-Chloro- and 2,4-Dichloro-cis,cis-Muconate: New Insight Obtained from Analysis of Muconate Cycloisomerase Variant CatB-K169A

Chloromuconate cycloisomerases of bacteria utilizing chloroaromatic compounds are known to convert 3-chloro-cis,cis-muconate to cis-dienelactone (cis-4-carboxymethylenebut-2-en-4-olide), while usual muconate cycloisomerases transform the same substrate to the bacteriotoxic protoanemonin. Formation of protoanemonin requires that the cycloisomerization of 3-chloro-cis,cis-muconate to 4-chloromuconolactone is completed by protonation of the exocyclic carbon of the presumed enol/enolate intermediate before chloride elimination and decarboxylation take place to yield the final product. The formation of cis-dienelactone, in contrast, could occur either by dehydrohalogenation of 4-chloromuconolactone or, more directly, by chloride elimination from the enol/enolate intermediate. To reach a better understanding of the mechanisms of chloride elimination, the proton-donating Lys169 of Pseudomonas putida muconate cycloisomerase was changed to alanine. As expected, substrates requiring protonation, such as cis,cis-muconate as well as 2- and 3-methyl-, 3-fluoro-, and 2-chloro-cis,cis-muconate, were not converted at a significant rate by the K169A variant. However, the variant was still active with 3-chloro- and 2,4-dichloro-cis,cis-muconate. Interestingly, cis-dienelactone and 2-chloro-cis-dienelactone were formed as products, whereas the wild-type enzyme forms protoanemonin and the not previously isolated 2-chloroprotoanemonin, respectively. Thus, the chloromuconate cycloisomerases may avoid (chloro-)protoanemonin formation by increasing the rate of chloride abstraction from the enol/enolate intermediate compared to that of proton addition to it.     

Structural basis for the substrate specificity and the absence of dehalogenation activity in 2-chloromuconate cycloisomerase from Rhodococcus opacus 1CP

2-Chloromuconate cycloisomerase from the Gram-positive bacterium Rhodococcus opacus 1CP (Rho-2-CMCI) is an enzyme of a modified ortho-pathway, in which 2-chlorophenol is degraded using 3-chlorocatechol as the central intermediate. In general, the chloromuconate cycloisomerases catalyze not only the cycloisomerization, but also the process of dehalogenation of the chloromuconate to dienelactone. However Rho-2-CMCI, unlike the homologous enzymes from the Gram-negative bacteria, is very specific for only one position of the chloride on the substrate chloromuconate. Furthermore, Rho-2-CMCI is not able to dehalogenate the 5-chloromuconolactone and therefore it cannot generate the dienelactone.     

A new type of muconate cycloisomerase from Rhodococcus rhodochrous strain 89

Muconate cycloisomerase (MCI) was purified from Rhodococcus rhodochrous 89 grown on phenol. The enzyme appears to contain two different type subunits with molecular masses 35.5 and 37 kD. The N-terminal amino acid sequence of both subunits showed more similarity to corresponding enzymes from gram-negative bacteria than to one from Rhodococcus opacus 1CP. MCI from R. rhodochrous 89, like analogous enzymes from gram-negative bacteria, can convert 2-chloromuconate (2-CM) with the formation of both, 2- and 5-chloromuconolactones (CML) as intermediates. Nevertheless, its unique ability to convert 5-CML to cis- but not to trans-dienelactone sets it apart from all known chloromuconate cycloisomerases from gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria.     

A new modified ortho cleavage pathway of 3-chlorocatechol degradation by Rhodococcus opacus 1CP: genetic and biochemical evidence

The 4-chloro- and 2,4-dichlorophenol-degrading strain Rhodococcus opacus 1CP has previously been shown to acquire, during prolonged adaptation, the ability to mineralize 2-chlorophenol. In addition, homogeneous chlorocatechol 1,2-dioxygenase from 2-chlorophenol-grown biomass has shown relatively high activity towards 3-chlorocatechol. Based on sequences of the N terminus and tryptic peptides of this enzyme, degenerate PCR primers were now designed and used for cloning of the respective gene from genomic DNA of strain 1CP. A 9.5-kb fragment containing nine open reading frames was obtained on pROP1. Besides other genes, a gene cluster consisting of four chlorocatechol catabolic genes was identified. As judged by sequence similarity and correspondence of predicted N termini with those of purified enzymes, the open reading frames correspond to genes for a second chlorocatechol 1,2-dioxygenase (ClcA2), a second chloromuconate cycloisomerase (ClcB2), a second dienelactone hydrolase (ClcD2), and a muconolactone isomerase-related enzyme (ClcF). All enzymes of this new cluster are only distantly related to the known chlorocatechol enzymes and appear to represent new evolutionary lines of these activities. UV overlay spectra as well as high-pressure liquid chromatography analyses confirmed that 2-chloro-cis,cis-muconate is transformed by ClcB2 to 5-chloromuconolactone, which during turnover by ClcF gives cis-dienelactone as the sole product. cis-Dienelactone was further hydrolyzed by ClcD2 to maleylacetate. ClcF, despite its sequence similarity to muconolactone isomerases, no longer showed muconolactone-isomerizing activity and thus represents an enzyme dedicated to its new function as a 5-chloromuconolactone dehalogenase. Thus, during 3-chlorocatechol degradation by R. opacus 1CP, dechlorination is catalyzed by a muconolactone isomerase-related enzyme rather than by a specialized chloromuconate cycloisomerase.     

Chloromethylmuconolactones as critical metabolites in the degradation of chloromethylcatechols: recalcitrance of 2-chlorotoluene

To elucidate possible reasons for the recalcitrance of 2-chlorotoluene, the metabolism of chloromethylcatechols, formed after dioxygenation and dehydrogenation by Ralstonia sp. strain PS12 tetrachlorobenzene dioxygenase and chlorobenzene dihydrodiol dehydrogenase, was monitored using chlorocatechol dioxygenases and chloromuconate cycloisomerases partly purified from Ralstonia sp. strain PS12 and Wautersia eutropha JMP134. Two chloromethylcatechols, 3-chloro-4-methylcatechol and 4-chloro-3-methylcatechol, were formed from 2-chlorotoluene. 3-Chloro-4-methylcatechol was transformed into 5-chloro-4-methylmuconolactone and 2-chloro-3-methylmuconolactone. For mechanistic reasons neither of these cycloisomerization products can be dehalogenated by chloromuconate cycloisomerases, with the result that 3-chloro-4-methylcatechol cannot be mineralized by reaction sequences related to catechol ortho-cleavage pathways known thus far. 4-Chloro-3-methylcatechol is only poorly dehalogenated during enzymatic processing due to the kinetic properties of the chloromuconate cycloisomerases. Thus, degradation of 2-chlorotoluene via a dioxygenolytic pathway is evidently problematic. In contrast, 5-chloro-3-methylcatechol, the major dioxygenation product formed from 3-chlorotoluene, is subject to quantitative dehalogenation after successive transformation by chlorocatechol 1,2-dioxygenase and chloromuconate cycloisomerase, resulting in the formation of 2-methyldienelactone. 3-Chloro-5-methylcatechol is transformed to 2-chloro-4-methylmuconolactone.     

Substrate Specificity of and Product Formation by Muconate Cycloisomerases: an Analysis of Wild-Type Enzymes and Engineered Variants

Muconate cycloisomerases play a crucial role in the bacterial degradation of aromatic compounds by converting cis,cis-muconate, the product of catechol ring cleavage, to (4S)-muconolactone. Chloromuconate cycloisomerases catalyze both the corresponding reaction and a dehalogenation reaction in the transformation of chloroaromatic compounds. This study reports the first thorough examination of the substrate specificity of the muconate cycloisomerases from Pseudomonas putida PRS2000 and Acinetobacter “calcoaceticus” ADP1. We show that they transform, in addition to cis,cis-muconate, 3-fluoro-, 2-methyl-, and 3-methyl-cis,cis-muconate with high specificity constants but not 2-fluoro-, 2-chloro-, 3-chloro-, or 2,4-dichloro-cis,cis-muconate. Based on known three-dimensional structures, variants of P. putida muconate cycloisomerase were constructed by site-directed mutagenesis to contain amino acids found in equivalent positions in chloromuconate cycloisomerases. Some of the variants had significantly increased specificity constants for 3-chloro- or 2,4-dichloromuconate (e.g., A271S and I54V showed 27- and 22-fold increases, respectively, for the former substrate). These kinetic improvements were not accompanied by a change from protoanemonin to cis,cis-dienelactone as the product of 3-chloro-cis,cis-muconate conversion. The rate of 2-chloro-cis,cis-muconate turnover was not significantly improved, nor was this compound dehalogenated to any significant extent. However, the direction of 2-chloro-cis,cis-muconate cycloisomerization could be influenced by amino acid exchange. While the wild-type enzyme discriminated only slightly between the two possible cycloisomerization directions, some of the enzyme variants showed a strong preference for either (+)-2-chloro- or (+)-5-chloromuconolactone formation. These results show that the different catalytic characteristics of muconate and chloromuconate cycloisomerases are due to a number of features that can be changed independently of each other.     

Evolutionary Relationship between Chlorocatechol Catabolic Enzymes from Rhodococcus opacus 1CP and Their Counterparts in Proteobacteria: Sequence Divergence and Functional Convergence

Biochemical investigations of the muconate and chloromuconate cycloisomerases from the chlorophenol-utilizing strain Rhodococcus opacus (erythropolis) 1CP had previously indicated that the chlorocatechol catabolic pathway of this strain may have developed independently from the corresponding pathways of proteobacteria. To test this hypothesis, we cloned the chlorocatechol catabolic gene cluster of strain 1CP by using PCR with primers derived from sequences of N termini and peptides of purified chlorocatechol 1,2-dioxygenase and chloromuconate cycloisomerase. Sequencing of the clones revealed that they comprise different parts of the same gene cluster in which five open reading frames have been identified. The clcB gene for chloromuconate cycloisomerase is transcribed divergently from a gene which codes for a LysR-type regulatory protein, the presumed ClcR. Downstream of clcR but separated from it by 222 bp, we detected the clcA and clcD genes, which could unambiguously be assigned to chlorocatechol 1,2-dioxygenase and dienelactone hydrolase. A gene coding for a maleylacetate reductase could not be detected. Instead, the product encoded by the fifth open reading frame turned out to be homologous to transposition-related proteins of IS1031 and Tn4811. Sequence comparisons of ClcA and ClcB to other 1,2-dioxygenases and cycloisomerases, respectively, clearly showed that the chlorocatechol catabolic enzymes of R. opacus 1CP represent different branches in the dendrograms than their proteobacterial counterparts. Thus, while the sequences diverged, the functional adaptation to efficient chlorocatechol metabolization occurred independently in proteobacteria and gram-positive bacteria, that is, by functionally convergent evolution.     

Recombinant expression of a unique chloromuconolactone dehalogenase ClcF from Rhodococcus opacus 1CP and identification of catalytically relevant residues by mutational analysis

Chloromuconolactone dehalogenase ClcF plays a unique role in 3-chlorocatechol degradation by Rhodococcus opacus 1CP by compensating the inability of its chloromuconate cycloisomerase ClcB2 to dechlorinate the chemically stable cycloisomerization product (4R,5S)-5-chloromuconolactone (5CML). High sequence similarities showed relatedness of ClcF to muconolactone isomerases (MLIs, EC 5.3.3.4) of the 3-oxoadipate pathway. Although both enzyme types share the ability to dechlorinate 5CML, comparison of kcat/Km indicated a significant extent of specialization of ClcF for dechlorination. This assumption was substantiated by an almost complete inability of ClcF to convert (4S)-muconolactone and the exclusive formation of cis-dienelactone from 5CML. Mutational analysis of ClcF by means of variants E27D, E27Q, Y50A, N52A, and A89S indicated relevance of some highly conserved residues for substrate binding and catalysis. Based on the putative isomerization mechanism of MLI, evidence was provided for a role of E27 in initial proton abstraction as well as of Y50 and N52 in substrate binding. In case of N52 substrate binding is likely to occur to the carboxylic group of 5CML as indicated by a significant change of product specificity. Expression in Escherichia coli BL21-CP(DE)-RIL followed by a three-step purification procedure with heat treatment is a convenient strategy to obtain recombinant ClcF and variants thereof.     

Enzymatic formation, stability, and spontaneous reactions of 4-fluoromuconolactone, a metabolite of the bacterial degradation of 4-fluorobenzoate.

Enzymatic conversion of 4-fluorocatechol in the simultaneous presence of partially purified preparations of catechol 1,2-dioxygenase from Pseudomonas cepacia and muconate cycloisomerase from Alcaligenes eutrophus 335 yielded a product that was unambiguously identified as (+)-4-fluoromuconolactone [(+)-4-carboxymethyl-4-fluoro-but-2-en-4-olide]. This compound was shown to be the only major product formed from 3-fluoro-cis,cis-muconate by the action of muconate cycloisomerases from A. eutrophus 335, A. eutrophus JMP134, and P. cepacia as well as by the action of dichloromuconate cycloisomerase from A. eutrophus JMP134. This finding implies that dichloromuconate cycloisomerase, like the muconate cycloisomerases, catalyzes primarily a cycloisomerization reaction, which only in the case of chloro- and bromo-substituted substrates is connected to a dehalogenation. 4-Fluoromuconolactone at pH 7 decomposes by spontaneous reactions mainly to maleylacetate, which then decarboxylates to give cis-acetylacrylate. Although significant amounts of an unidentified compound are also formed from the fluorolactone, HF elimination to the two isomeric dienelactones (4-carboxymethylenebut-2-en-4-olides) is negligible. However, all spontaneous reactions proceed so slowly that an enzymatic conversion of 4-fluoromuconolactone must be assumed. Participation of dienelactone hydrolases in this reaction is indicated by their induction during growth of various strains with 4-fluorobenzoate. However, experiments with cell extracts of P. putida A3.12 suggest that at least one other hydrolytic enzyme is able to contribute to 4-fluoromuconolactone conversion. In light of these observations, earlier proposals for a 4-fluorobenzoate degradative pathway are discussed.     

Importance of different tfd genes for degradation of chloroaromatics by Ralstonia eutropha JMP134

The tfdC(I)D(I)E(I)F(I,) and tfdD(II)C(II)E(II)F(II) gene modules of plasmid pJP4 of Ralstonia eutropha JMP134 encode complete sets of functional enzymes for the transformation of chlorocatechols into 3-oxoadipate, which are all expressed during growth on 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetate (2,4-D). However, activity of tfd(I)-encoded enzymes was usually higher than that of tfd(II)-encoded enzymes, both in the wild-type strain grown on 2,4-D and in 3-chlorobenzoate-grown derivatives harboring only one tfd gene module. The tfdD(II)-encoded chloromuconate cycloisomerase exhibited special kinetic properties, with high activity against 3-chloromuconate and poor activity against 2-chloromuconate and unsubstituted muconate, thus explaining the different phenotypic behaviors of R. eutropha strains containing different tfd gene modules. The enzyme catalyzes the formation of an equilibrium between 2-chloromuconate and 5-chloro- and 2-chloromuconolactone and very inefficiently catalyzes dehalogenation to form trans-dienelactone as the major product, thus differing from all (chloro)muconate cycloisomerases described thus far.     

3-Carboxy-cis,cis-muconate lactonizing enzyme from Neurospora crassa: an alternate cycloisomerase motif.

3-Carboxy-cis,cis-muconate lactonizing enzyme (CMLE; EC 5.5.1.5) from Neurospora crassa catalyzes the reversible gamma-lactonization of 3-carboxy-cis,cis-muconate by a syn-1,2 addition-elimination reaction. The stereochemical and regiochemical course of the reaction is (i) opposite that of CMLE from Pseudomonas putida (EC 5.5.1.2) and (ii) identical to that of cis,cis-muconate lactonizing enzyme (MLE; EC 5.5.1.1) from P. putida. In order to determine the mechanistic and evolutionary relationships between N. crassa CMLE and the procaryotic cycloisomerases, we have purified CMLE from N. crassa to homogeneity and determined its nucleotide sequence from a cDNA clone isolated from a p-hydroxybenzoate-induced N. crassa cDNA library. The deduced amino acid sequence predicts a protein of 41.2 kDa (365 residues) which does not exhibit sequence similarity with any of the bacterial cycloisomerases. The cDNA encoding N. crassa CMLE was expressed in Escherichia coli, and the purified recombinant protein exhibits physical and kinetic properties equivalent to those found for the isolated N. crassa enzyme. We also report that N. crassa CMLE possesses substantially reduced yet significant levels of MLE activity with cis,cis-muconate and, furthermore, does not appear to be dependent on divalent metals for activity. These data suggest that the N. crassa CMLE may represent a novel eucaryotic motif in the cycloisomerase enzyme family.     

Structural basis for the activity of two muconate cycloisomerase variants toward substituted muconates.

We have refined to 2.3 A resolution two muconate cycloisomerase (MCIase) variant structures, F329I and I54V, that differ from each other and from wild-type in their activity toward cis,cis-muconate (CCM) and substituted CCMs. The working and free R-factors for F329I are 17.4/21.6% and for I54V, 17.6/22.3% with good stereochemistry. Except for the mutated residue, there are no significant changes in structure. To understand the differences in enzymatic properties we docked substituted CCMs and CCM into the active sites of the variants and wild type. The extra space the mutations create appears to account for most of the enzymatic differences. The lack of other structural changes explains why, although structurally equivalent changes occur in chloromuconate cycloisomerase (CMCIase), the changes in themselves do not convert a MCIase into a dehalogenating CMCIase. Reanalysis of the CMCIase structure revealed only one general acid/base, K169. The structural implication is that, in 2-chloro-CCM conversion by CMCIase, the lactone ring of 5-chloromuconolactone rotates before dehalogenation to bring the acidic C4 proton next to K169. Therefore, K169 alone performs both required protonation and deprotonation steps, the first at C5 as in MCIase, and the second, after ring rotation, at C4. This distinguishes CMCIase from alpha/beta barrel isomerases and racemases, which use two different bases.     

Characterization of a Gene Cluster Involved in 4-Chlorocatechol Degradation by Pseudomonas reinekei MT1

Pseudomonas reinekei MT1 has previously been reported to degrade 4- and 5-chlorosalicylate by a pathway with 4-chlorocatechol, 3-chloromuconate, 4-chloromuconolactone, and maleylacetate as intermediates, and a gene cluster channeling various salicylates into an intradiol cleavage route has been reported. We now report that during growth on 5-chlorosalicylate, besides a novel (chloro)catechol 1,2-dioxygenase, C12O_ccaA, a novel (chloro)muconate cycloisomerase, MCI_ccaB, which showed features not yet reported, was induced. This cycloisomerase, which was practically inactive with muconate, evolved for the turnover of 3-substituted muconates and transforms 3-chloromuconate into equal amounts of cis-dienelactone and protoanemonin, suggesting that it is a functional intermediate between chloromuconate cycloisomerases and muconate cycloisomerases. The corresponding genes, ccaA (C12O_ccaA) and ccaB (MCI_ccaB), were located in a 5.1-kb genomic region clustered with genes encoding trans-dienelactone hydrolase (ccaC) and maleylacetate reductase (ccaD) and a putative regulatory gene, ccaR, homologous to regulators of the IclR-type family. Thus, this region includes genes sufficient to enable MT1 to transform 4-chlorocatechol to 3-oxoadipate. Phylogenetic analysis showed that C12O_ccaA and MCI_ccaB are only distantly related to previously described catechol 1,2-dioxygenases and muconate cycloisomerases. Kinetic analysis indicated that MCI_ccaB and the previously identified C12O_salD, rather than C12O_ccaA, are crucial for 5-chlorosalicylate degradation. Thus, MT1 uses enzymes encoded by a completely novel gene cluster for degradation of chlorosalicylates, which, together with a gene cluster encoding enzymes for channeling salicylates into the ortho-cleavage pathway, form an effective pathway for 4- and 5-chlorosalicylate mineralization.The aerobic degradation of chloroaromatic compounds usually proceeds via chlorocatechols as central intermediates (20, 47), which in most of the cases reported thus far, are further degraded by enzymes of the chlorocatechol pathway (44). This pathway involves ortho-cleavage by a chlorocatechol 1,2-dioxygenase with high activity for chlorocatechols (12), a chloromuconate cycloisomerase with high activity for chloromuconates (54), a dienelactone hydrolase active with both cis- and trans-dienelactone (4-carboxymethylenebut-2-en-4-olide) (54), and a maleylacetate reductase (MAR) (28).However, it has become evident in recent years that microorganisms have evolved various alternative strategies to mineralize chlorocatechols. Pseudomonas putida GJ31 was found to degrade chlorobenzene rapidly via 3-chlorocatechol using a catechol meta-cleavage pathway (33). Two alternative pathways for 3- and 4-chlorocatechol degradation that involve reactions known from the chlorocatechol, as well as the 3-oxoadipate, pathway have recently been observed in Rhodococcus opacus 1CP (35) and Pseudomonas reinekei MT1 (39). In R. opacus 1CP, 3-chloro- and 2,4-dichloro-cis,cis-muconate (the ring cleavage products of 4-chlorocatechol and 3,5-dichlorocatechol, respectively) are converted to the respective cis-dienelactones (35, 58), similar to the reaction described for proteobacterial chloromuconate cycloisomerases (54). However, proteobacterial chloromuconate cycloisomerase can dehalogenate 2-chloromuconate (the ring cleavage product of 3-chlorocatechol) and transform this compound via 5-chloromuconolactone into trans-dienelactone (54, 65), whereas none of the described chloromuconate cycloisomerases of R. opacus 1CP can catalyze such a dehalogenation, and 5-chloromuconolactone is the product of the cycloisomerization reaction (35, 58). Dehalogenation is achieved by an enzyme with high sequence similarity to muconolactone isomerases (35), which in proteobacteria have been shown to be capable of dehalogenating 5-chloromuconolactone to cis-dienelactone (46).In P. reinekei MT1, a trans-dienelactone hydrolase (trans-DLH) was identified as the key enzyme involved in the degradation of 4- and 5-chlorosalicylate via 4-chlorocatechol as an intermediate (39). In contrast to all previously described dienelactone hydrolases involved in chlorocatechol degradation, which belong to the α/β hydrolase fold enzymes with a catalytic triad consisting of Cys, His, and Asp (10), trans-DLH was shown to be a zinc-dependent hydrolase (8). The function of this enzyme in the 4-chlorocatechol metabolic pathway was to interact with the muconate cycloisomerase (MCI)-mediated transformation of 3-chloromuconate into protoanemonin. By acting on the reaction intermediate 4-chloromuconolactone, trans-DLH prevents the formation of protoanemonin by catalyzing its hydrolysis to maleylacetate (39). Maleylacetate, in turn, is reduced by MAR to 3-oxoadipate.A more detailed genetic and biochemical analysis of the degradation of differently substituted salicylates (7) had shown the presence of two catabolic gene clusters in MT1. An archetype catRBCA gene cluster was shown to be involved in salicylate degradation. The second gene cluster (sal) had a novel gene arrangement, with salA, encoding a salicylate 1-hydroxylase, clustered with the salCD genes, encoding MCI and catechol 1,2-dioxygenase (C12O), respectively. As these genes were expressed during growth on differently substituted salicylates, it was proposed that the function of the sal gene cluster is to channel both chlorosubstituted and methylsubstituted salicylates into a catechol ortho-cleavage pathway, followed by dismantling of the formed substituted muconolactones through specific pathways. However, previous analyses had indicated the presence of an additional and thus third (chloro)muconate cycloisomerase in MT1 during growth on chlorosalicylate, which is distinct from both previously described MCIs encoded by the cat cluster (MCI_catB) and the sal cluster (MCI_salC), as it transforms 3-chloromuconate into approximately equal amounts of cis-dienelactone and protoanemonin (39). In the present report, this cycloisomerase is biochemically and genetically described and shown to be located in a third gene cluster involved in the degradation of 5-chlorosalicylate by strain MT1. This cluster comprises genes encoding a third C12O, trans-DLH (8), and a MAR. Evidently, P. reinekei MT1 is the first microorganism in which such a complex net of genes involved in chlorocatechol degradation has been described.     

Conversion of 2-fluoromuconate to cis-dienelactone by purified enzymes of Rhodococcus opacus 1cp

The present study describes the (19)F nuclear magnetic resonance analysis of the conversion of 3-halocatechols to lactones by purified chlorocatechol 1,2-dioxygenase (ClcA2), chloromuconate cycloisomerase (ClcB2), and chloromuconolactone dehalogenase (ClcF) from Rhodococcus opacus 1cp grown on 2-chlorophenol. The 3-halocatechol substrates were produced from the corresponding 2-halophenols by either phenol hydroxylase from Trichosporon cutaneum or 2-hydroxybiphenyl 3-mono-oxygenase from Pseudomonas azelaica. Several fluoromuconates resulting from intradiol ring cleavage by ClcA2 were identified. ClcB2 converted 2-fluoromuconate to 5-fluoromuconolactone and 2-chloro-4-fluoromuconate to 2-chloro-4-fluoromuconolactone. Especially the cycloisomerization of 2-fluoromuconate is a new observation. ClcF catalyzed the dehalogenation of 5-fluoromuconolactone to cis-dienelactone. The ClcB2 and ClcF-mediated reactions are in line with the recent finding of a second cluster of chlorocatechol catabolic genes in R. opacus 1cp which provides a new route for the microbial dehalogenation of 3-chlorocatechol.     

New bacterial pathway for 4- and 5-chlorosalicylate degradation via 4-chlorocatechol and maleylacetate in Pseudomonas sp. strain MT1

Pseudomonas sp. strain MT1 is capable of degrading 4- and 5-chlorosalicylates via 4-chlorocatechol, 3-chloromuconate, and maleylacetate by a novel pathway. 3-Chloromuconate is transformed by muconate cycloisomerase of MT1 into protoanemonin, a dominant reaction product, as previously shown for other muconate cycloisomerases. However, kinetic data indicate that the muconate cycloisomerase of MT1 is specialized for 3-chloromuconate conversion and is not able to form cis-dienelactone. Protoanemonin is obviously a dead-end product of the pathway. A trans-dienelactone hydrolase (trans-DLH) was induced during growth on chlorosalicylates. Even though the purified enzyme did not act on either 3-chloromuconate or protoanemonin, the presence of muconate cylcoisomerase and trans-DLH together resulted in considerably lower protoanemonin concentrations but larger amounts of maleylacetate formed from 3-chloromuconate than the presence of muconate cycloisomerase alone resulted in. As trans-DLH also acts on 4-fluoromuconolactone, forming maleylacetate, we suggest that this enzyme acts on 4-chloromuconolactone as an intermediate in the muconate cycloisomerase-catalyzed transformation of 3-chloromuconate, thus preventing protoanemonin formation and favoring maleylacetate formation. The maleylacetate formed in this way is reduced by maleylacetate reductase. Chlorosalicylate degradation in MT1 thus occurs by a new pathway consisting of a patchwork of reactions catalyzed by enzymes from the 3-oxoadipate pathway (catechol 1,2-dioxygenase, muconate cycloisomerase) and the chlorocatechol pathway (maleylacetate reductase) and a trans-DLH.     

Conversion of 2-Fluoromuconate to cis-Dienelactone by Purified Enzymes of Rhodococcus opacus 1cp

The present study describes the ¹⁹F nuclear magnetic resonance analysis of the conversion of 3-halocatechols to lactones by purified chlorocatechol 1,2-dioxygenase (ClcA2), chloromuconate cycloisomerase (ClcB2), and chloromuconolactone dehalogenase (ClcF) from Rhodococcus opacus 1cp grown on 2-chlorophenol. The 3-halocatechol substrates were produced from the corresponding 2-halophenols by either phenol hydroxylase from Trichosporon cutaneum or 2-hydroxybiphenyl 3-mono-oxygenase from Pseudomonas azelaica. Several fluoromuconates resulting from intradiol ring cleavage by ClcA2 were identified. ClcB2 converted 2-fluoromuconate to 5-fluoromuconolactone and 2-chloro-4-fluoromuconate to 2-chloro-4-fluoromuconolactone. Especially the cycloisomerization of 2-fluoromuconate is a new observation. ClcF catalyzed the dehalogenation of 5-fluoromuconolactone to cis-dienelactone. The ClcB2 and ClcF-mediated reactions are in line with the recent finding of a second cluster of chlorocatechol catabolic genes in R. opacus 1cp which provides a new route for the microbial dehalogenation of 3-chlorocatechol.