Isolation and characterisation of new Planococcus sp. strain able for aromatic hydrocarbons degradation

New Planococcus sp. strain S5 able to grow on salicylate or benzoate as sole carbon source was isolated from activated sludge adapted to sodium salicylate degradation. S5 was determined to be a strictly aerobic, gram-positive, catalase positive, oxidase negative, non-motile, non-spore forming coccus. The strain harboured a plasmid, named pLS5. The S5 strain when grown on salicylate expressed both catechol 1,2-dioxygenase and catechol 2,3-dioxygenase activities and degraded this substrate by both the ortho and meta pathways while grown on benzoate expressed only catechol 1,2-dioxygenase activity. Curing of the plasmid from the strain showed that plasmid pLS5 was involved in salicylate degradation by the meta pathway.     

Dioxygenolytic cleavage of aryl ether bonds: 1,2-Dihydro-1,2-dihydroxy-4-carboxybenzophenone as evidence for initial 1,2-dioxygenation in 3- and 4-carboxy biphenyl ether degradation

A bacterial strain, Pseudomonas sp. POB 310, was enriched with 4-carboxy biphenyl ether as sole source of carbon and energy. Resting cells of POB 310 co-oxidize a substrate analogue, 4-carboxybenzophenone, yielding 1,2-dihydro-1,2-dihydroxy-4-carboxy-benzophenone. The ether bond of 3- and 4-carboxy biphenyl ether is cleaved analogously by initial 1,2-dioxygenation, yielding a hemiacetal which is hydrolysed to protocatechuate and phenol. These intermediates are degraded via an ortho and meta pathway, respectively. Alternative 2,3- and 3,4-dioxygenation can be ruled out as triggering steps in carboxy biphenyl ether degradation.     

Role of Catechol and the Methylcatechols as Inducers of Aromatic Metabolism in Pseudomonas putida

Pseudomonas putida NCIB 10015 metabolizes phenol and the cresols (methylphenols) by the meta pathway and metabolizes benzoate by the ortho pathway. Growth on catechol, an intermediate in the metabolism of both phenol and benzoate, induces both ortho and meta pathways; growth on 3- or 4-methylcatechols, intermediates in the metabolism of the cresols, induces only the meta pathway to a very limited degree. Addition of catechol at a growth-limiting rate induces virtually no meta pathway enzymes, but high levels of ortho pathway enzymes. The role of catechol and the methylcatechols as inducers is discussed. A method is described for assaying low levels of catechol 1,2-oxygenase in the presence of high levels of catechol 2,3-oxygenase and vice versa.     

Phenol and Benzoate Metabolism by Pseudomonas putida: Regulation of Tangential Pathways

Catechol occurs as an intermediate in the metabolism of both benzoate and phenol by strains of Pseudomonas putida. During growth at the expense of benzoate, catechol is cleaved ortho (1,2-oxygenase) and metabolized via the beta-ketoadipate pathway; during growth at the expense of phenol or cresols, the catechol or substituted catechols formed are metabolized by a separate pathway following meta (2,3-oxygenase) cleavage of the aromatic ring of catechol. It is possible to explain the mutually exclusive occurrence of the meta and ortho pathway enzymes in phenol- and benzoate-grown cells of P. putida on the basis of differences in the mode of regulation of these two pathways. By use of both nonmetabolizable inducers and blocked mutants, gratuitous synthesis of some of the meta pathway enzymes was obtained. All four enzymes of the meta pathway are induced by the primary substrate, cresol or phenol, or its analogue. Three enzymes of the ortho pathway that catalyze the conversion of catechol to beta-ketoadipate enol-lactone are induced by cis,cis-muconate, produced from catechol by 1,2-oxygenase-mediated cleavage. Observations on the differences in specificity of induction and function of the two pathways suggest that they are not really either tangential or redundant. The meta pathway serves as a general mechanism for catabolism of various alkyl derivatives of catechol derived from substituted phenolic compounds. The ortho pathway is more specific and serves primarily in the catabolism of precursors of catechol and catechol itself.     

A comparison of biodegradation of phenol and homologous compounds by Pseudomonas vesicularis and Staphylococcus sciuri strains

Pseudomonas vesicularis and Staphylococcus sciuri were isolated as dominant strains from phenol-acclimated activated sludge. P. vesicularis was an efficient degrader of phenol, catechol, p-cresol, sodium benzoate and sodium salicylate in a single substrate system. Under similar conditions S. sciuri degraded only phenol and catechol from among aromatic compounds that were tested. Cell-free extracts of P. vesicularis grown on phenol (376 mg l(-1)), sodium benzoate (576 mg l(-1)) and sodium salicylate (640 mg l(-1)) showed catechol 2,3-dioxygenase activity initiating an extradiol (meta) splitting pathway. The degradative intradiol (ortho) pathway as a result of catechol 1,2-dioxygenase synthesis was induced in P. vesicularis cells grown on catechol (440 mg l(-1)) orp-cresol (432 mg l(-1)). Catechol 1,2-dioxygenase and the ortho-cleavage has been also reported in S. sciuri cells capable of degrading phenol (376 mg l(-1)) or catechol (440 mg l(-1)). In cell-free extracts of S. sciuri no meta-cleavage enzyme activity was detected. These results demonstrated that gram-positive S. sciuri strain was able to effectively metabolize some phenols as do many bacteria of the genus Pseudomonas but have a different capacity for degrading of these compounds.     

Biodegradation of mixtures of substituted benzenes by Pseudomonas sp. strain JS150.

Pseudomonas sp. strain JS150 was isolated as a nonencapsulated variant of Pseudomonas sp. strain JS1 that contains the genes for the degradative pathways of a wide range of substituted aromatic compounds. Pseudomonas sp. strain JS150 grew on phenol, ethylbenzene, toluene, benzene, naphthalene, benzoate, p-hydroxybenzoate, salicylate, chlorobenzene, and several 1,4-dihalogenated benzenes. We designed experiments to determine the conditions required for induction of the individual pathways and to determine whether multiple substrates could be biodegraded simultaneously. Oxygen consumption studies with whole cells and enzyme assays with cell extracts showed that the enzymes of the meta, ortho, and modified ortho cleavage pathways can be induced in strain JS150. Strain JS150 contains a nonspecific toluene dioxygenase with a substrate range similar to that found in strains of Pseudomonas putida. The presence of the dioxygenase along with multiple pathways for metabolism of substituted catechols allows facile extension of the growth range by spontaneous mutation and degradation of mixtures of substituted benzenes and phenols. Chlorobenzene-grown cells of strain JS150 degraded mixtures of chlorobenzene, benzene, toluene, naphthalene, trichloroethylene, and 1,2- and 1,4-dichlorobenzenes in continuous culture. Under similar conditions, phenol-grown cells degraded a mixture of phenol, 2-chloro-, 3-chloro, and 2,5-dichlorophenol and 2-methyl- and 3-methylphenol. These results indicate that induction of appropriate biodegradative pathways in strain JS150 permits the biodegradation of complex mixtures of aromatic compounds.     

Biodegradation of mixtures of substituted benzenes by Pseudomonas sp. strain JS150.

Pseudomonas sp. strain JS150 was isolated as a nonencapsulated variant of Pseudomonas sp. strain JS1 that contains the genes for the degradative pathways of a wide range of substituted aromatic compounds. Pseudomonas sp. strain JS150 grew on phenol, ethylbenzene, toluene, benzene, naphthalene, benzoate, p-hydroxybenzoate, salicylate, chlorobenzene, and several 1,4-dihalogenated benzenes. We designed experiments to determine the conditions required for induction of the individual pathways and to determine whether multiple substrates could be biodegraded simultaneously. Oxygen consumption studies with whole cells and enzyme assays with cell extracts showed that the enzymes of the meta, ortho, and modified ortho cleavage pathways can be induced in strain JS150. Strain JS150 contains a nonspecific toluene dioxygenase with a substrate range similar to that found in strains of Pseudomonas putida. The presence of the dioxygenase along with multiple pathways for metabolism of substituted catechols allows facile extension of the growth range by spontaneous mutation and degradation of mixtures of substituted benzenes and phenols. Chlorobenzene-grown cells of strain JS150 degraded mixtures of chlorobenzene, benzene, toluene, naphthalene, trichloroethylene, and 1,2- and 1,4-dichlorobenzenes in continuous culture. Under similar conditions, phenol-grown cells degraded a mixture of phenol, 2-chloro-, 3-chloro, and 2,5-dichlorophenol and 2-methyl- and 3-methylphenol. These results indicate that induction of appropriate biodegradative pathways in strain JS150 permits the biodegradation of complex mixtures of aromatic compounds.     

Metabolism of naphthalene, 2-methylnaphthalene, salicylate, and benzoate by Pseudomonas PG: regulation of tangential pathways.

Naphthalene is metabolized by Pseudomonas PG through 1,2-dihydroxynaphthalene and salicylate to catechol, which is then degraded by the meta pathway. 2-Methylnaphthalene, but not 1-methylnaphthalene, also serves as a growth substrate and is metabolized by the same route, through 4-methylcatechol. The same nonspecific meta pathway enzymes appear to be induced by growth on either naphthalene or 2-methylnaphthalene. The level to which 2-hydroxymuconic semialdehyde hydrolase is induced is low and probably of no metabolic significance. Growth on salicylate or catechol, both intermediates of naphthalene degradation, or benzoate results in induction of the ortho pathway, the alternative route for catechol dissimilation. No induction of 1,2-dihydroxynaphthalene oxygenase was found in salicylate-grown cells. Anaerobic growth on a succinate-nitrate medium in the presence of various inducers indicates that cis, cis-muconate, or one of its metabolites is the inducer of the ortho pathway enzymes. The inducer or inducers of the early enzymes of naphthalene degradation and of the meta pathway enzymes must be an early intermediate of the naphthalene pathway above salicylate.     

Catechol oxygenases of Pseudomonas putida mutant strains.

Investigation of a mutant strain of Pseudomonas putida NCIB 10015, strain PsU-E1, showed that it had lost the ability to produce catechol 1,2-oxygenase after growth with catechol. Additional mutants of both wild-type and mutant strains PsU-E1 have been isolated that grow on catechol, but not on benzoate, yet still form a catechol 1,2-oxygenase when exposed to benzoate. These findings indicate that either there are separately induced catechol 1,2-oxygenase enzymes, or that there are two separate inducers for the one catechol 1,2-oxygenase enzyme. Comparisons of the physical properties of the catechol 1,2-oxygenases formed in response to the two different inducers show no significant differences, so it is more probable that the two proteins are the product of the same gene. Sufficient enzymes of the ortho-fission pathway are induced in the wild-type strain by the initial substrate benzoate (or an early intermediate) to commit that substrate to metabolism by ortho fission exclusively. A mechanism exists that permits metabolism of catechol by meta fission if the ortho-fission enzymes are unable to prevent its intracellular accumulation.     

Three types of phenol and p-cresol catabolism in phenol- and p-cresol-degrading bacteria isolated from river water continuously polluted with phenolic compounds

A total of 39 phenol- and p-cresol-degraders isolated from the river water continuously polluted with phenolic compounds of oil shale leachate were studied. Species identification by BIOLOG GN analysis revealed 21 strains of Pseudomonas fluorescens (4, 8 and 9 of biotypes A, C and G, respectively), 12 of Pseudomonas mendocina, four of Pseudomonas putida biotype A1, one of Pseudomonas corrugata and one of Acinetobacter genospecies 15. Computer-assisted analysis of rep-PCR fingerprints clustered the strains into groups with good concordance with the BIOLOG GN data. Three main catabolic types of degradation of phenol and p-cresol were revealed. Type I, or meta-meta type (15 strains), was characterized by meta cleavage of catechol by catechol 2,3-dioxygenase (C23O) during the growth on phenol and p-cresol. These strains carried C23O genes which gave PCR products with specific xylE-gene primers. Type II, or ortho-ortho type (13 strains), was characterized by the degradation of phenol through ortho fission of catechol by catechol 1,2-dioxygenase (C12O) and p-cresol via ortho cleavage of protocatechuic acid by protocatechuate 3,4-dioxygenase (PC34O). These strains carried phenol monooxygenase gene which gave PCR products with pheA-gene primers. Type III, or meta-ortho type (11 strains), was characterized by the degradation of phenol by C23O and p-cresol via the protocatechuate ortho pathway by the induction of PC34O and this carried C23O genes which gave PCR products with C23O-gene primers, but not with specific xylE-gene primers. In type III strains phenol also induced the p-cresol protocatechuate pathway, as revealed by the induction of p-cresol methylhydroxylase. These results demonstrate multiplicity of catabolic types of degradation of phenol and p-cresol and the existence of characteristic assemblages of species and specific genotypes among the strains isolated from the polluted river water.     

Reductive dechlorination of chlorophenols by a pentachlorophenol- acclimated methanogenic consortium.

Anaerobic digester sludge fed 5,300 mg of acetate per liter, 3.4 microM pentachlorophenol, and nutrients for 10 days biotransformed pentachlorophenol by sequential ortho dechlorinations to produce 2,3,4,5-tetrachlorophenol and 3,4,5-trichlorophenol. Upon acclimation to 3.4 microM pentachlorophenol for 6 months, the methanogenic consortium removed chlorines from the ortho, meta, and para positions of pentachlorophenol and its reductive dechlorination products. Pentachlorophenol was degraded to produce 2,3,4,5-tetrachlorophenol, 2,3,4,6-tetrachlorophenol, and 2,3,5,6-tetrachlorophenol. Dechlorination of 2,3,4,5-tetrachlorophenol produced 3,4,5-trichlorophenol, which was subsequently degraded to produce 3,4-dichlorophenol and 3,5-dichlorophenol. 2,3,4,6-Tetrachlorophenol was dechlorinated at the ortho and meta positions to produce 2,4,6-trichlorophenol and 2,4,5-trichlorophenol. 2,3,5,6-Tetrachlorophenol yielded 2,3,5-trichlorophenol, followed by production of 3,5-dichlorophenol. 2,4,6-Trichlorophenol was degraded to form 2,4-dichlorophenol, and 2,4,5-trichlorophenol was dechlorinated at two positions to form 2,4-dichlorophenol and 3,4-dichlorophenol. Of the three dichlorophenols produced (2,4-dichlorophenol, 3,4-dichlorophenol, and 3,5-dichlorophenol), only 2,4-dichlorophenol was degraded significantly within 3 weeks, to produce 4-chlorophenol.     

Reductive dechlorination of chlorophenols by a pentachlorophenol- acclimated methanogenic consortium.

Anaerobic digester sludge fed 5,300 mg of acetate per liter, 3.4 microM pentachlorophenol, and nutrients for 10 days biotransformed pentachlorophenol by sequential ortho dechlorinations to produce 2,3,4,5-tetrachlorophenol and 3,4,5-trichlorophenol. Upon acclimation to 3.4 microM pentachlorophenol for 6 months, the methanogenic consortium removed chlorines from the ortho, meta, and para positions of pentachlorophenol and its reductive dechlorination products. Pentachlorophenol was degraded to produce 2,3,4,5-tetrachlorophenol, 2,3,4,6-tetrachlorophenol, and 2,3,5,6-tetrachlorophenol. Dechlorination of 2,3,4,5-tetrachlorophenol produced 3,4,5-trichlorophenol, which was subsequently degraded to produce 3,4-dichlorophenol and 3,5-dichlorophenol. 2,3,4,6-Tetrachlorophenol was dechlorinated at the ortho and meta positions to produce 2,4,6-trichlorophenol and 2,4,5-trichlorophenol. 2,3,5,6-Tetrachlorophenol yielded 2,3,5-trichlorophenol, followed by production of 3,5-dichlorophenol. 2,4,6-Trichlorophenol was degraded to form 2,4-dichlorophenol, and 2,4,5-trichlorophenol was dechlorinated at two positions to form 2,4-dichlorophenol and 3,4-dichlorophenol. Of the three dichlorophenols produced (2,4-dichlorophenol, 3,4-dichlorophenol, and 3,5-dichlorophenol), only 2,4-dichlorophenol was degraded significantly within 3 weeks, to produce 4-chlorophenol.     

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.     

Degradation of aniline by Delftia tsuruhatensis 14S in batch and continuous processes

A Delftia tsuruhatensis strain capable of consuming aniline as the sole source of carbon, nitrogen, and energy at concentrations of up to 3200 mg/l was isolated from activated sludge of purification works of OAO Volzhskii Orgsintez. The strain grew on pyrocatechol and p-hydroxybenzoic acid, but did not consume phenol, 2-aminophenol, 3-chloroaniline, 4-chloroaniline, 2,3-dichloroaniline, 2,4-dichloroaniline, 3,4-dichloroaniline, 2-nitroaniline, 2-chlorophenol, or aminobenzoate. Aniline is degraded by cleavage of the pyrocatechol aromatic ring at the ortho position. Cells were immobilized on polycaproamide fiber. It was shown that the strain degraded aniline at 1000 mg/l in a continuous process over a long period of time.     

Degradation of phenanthrene and anthracene by Nocardia otitidiscaviarum strain TSH1, a moderately thermophilic bacterium

Aims:  The metabolism of phenanthrene and anthracene by a moderate thermophilic Nocardia otitidiscaviarum strain TSH1 was examined.
Methods and Results:  When strain TSH1 was grown in the presence of anthracene, four metabolites were identified as 1,2-dihydroxy-1,2-dihydroanthracene, 3-(2-carboxyvinyl)naphthalene-2-carboxylic acid, 2,3-dihydroxynaphthalene and benzoic acid using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), reverse phase-high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) and thin-layer chromatography (TLC). Degradation studies with phenanthrene revealed 2,2'-diphenic acid, phthalic acid, 4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid, o -hydroxyphenylacetic acid, benzoic acid, a phenanthrene dihydrodiol, 4-[1-hydroxy(2-naphthyl)]-2-oxobut-3-enoic acid and 1-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid (1H2NA), as detectable metabolites.
Conclusions:  Strain TSH1 initiates phenanthrene degradation via dioxygenation at the C-3 and C-4 or at C-9 and C-10 ring positions. Ortho -cleavage of the 9,10-diol leads to formation of 2,2'-diphenic acid. The 3,4-diol ring is cleaved to form 1H2NA which can subsequently be degraded through o -phthalic acid pathway. Benzoate does not fit in the previously published pathways from mesophiles. Anthracene metabolism seems to start with a dioxygenation at the 1 and 2 positions and ortho -cleavage of the resulting diol. The pathway proceeds probably through 2,3-dicarboxynaphthalene and 2,3-dihydroxynaphthalene. Degradation of 2,3-dihydroxynaphthalene to benzoate and transformation of the later to catechol is a possible route for the further degradation of anthracene.
Significance and Impact of the Study:  For the first time, metabolism of phenanthrene and anthracene in a thermophilic Nocardia strain was investigated.     

Dioxygenases of chlorobiphenyl-degrading species <Emphasis Type="Italic">Rhodococcus wratislaviensis</Emphasis> G10 and chlorophenol-degrading species <Emphasis Type="Italic">Rhodococcus opacus</Emphasis> 1CP induced in benzoate-grown cells and genes potentially involved in these processes

Dioxygenases induced during benzoate degradation by the actinobacterium Rhodococcus wratislaviensis G10 strain degrading haloaromatic compounds were studied. Rhodococcus wratislaviensis G10 completely degraded 2 g/liter benzoate during 30 h and 10 g/liter during 200 h. Washed cells grown on benzoate retained respiration activity for more than 90 days, and a high activity of benzoate dioxygenase was recorded for 10 days. Compared to the enzyme activities with benzoate, the activity of benzoate dioxygenases was 10-30% with 13 of 35 substituted benzoate analogs. Two dioxygenases capable of cleaving the aromatic ring were isolated and characterized: protocatechuate 3,4-dioxygenase and catechol 1,2-dioxygenase. Catechol inhibited the activity of protocatechuate 3,4-dioxygenase. Protocatechuate did not affect the activity of catechol 1,2-dioxygenase. A high degree of identity was shown by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry for protein peaks of the R. wratislaviensis G10 and Rhodococcus opacus 1CP cells grown on benzoate or LB. DNA from the R. wratislaviensis G10 strain was specifically amplified using specific primers to variable regions of genes coding αand β-subunits of protocatechuate 3,4-dioxygenase and to two genes of theR. opacus 1CP coding catechol 1,2-dioxygenase. The products were 99% identical with the corresponding regions of the R. opacus 1CP genes. This high identity (99%) between the genes coding degradation of aromatic compounds in the R. wratislaviensis G10 and R. opacus 1CP strains isolated from sites of remote location (1400 km) and at different time (20-year difference) indicates a common origin of biodegradation genes of these strains and a wide distribution of these genes among rhodococci.     

Functional identification of the gene locus (ncg12319 and characterization of catechol 1,2-dioxygenase in Corynebacterium glutamicum

Corynebacterium glutamicum assimilated phenol, benzoate, 4-hydroxybenzoate p-cresol and 3,4-dihydroxybenzoate. Ring cleavage was by catechol 1,2-dioxygenase when phenol or benzoate was used and by protocatechuate 3,4-dioxygenase when the others were used as substrate. The locus ncg12319 of its genome was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli. Enzyme assays showed that ncg12319 encodes a catechol 1,2-dioxygenase. This catechol 1,2-dioxygenase was purified and accepted catechol, 3-, or 4-methylcatechols, but not chlorinated catechols, as substrates. The optimal temperature and pH for catechol cleavage catalyzed by the enzyme were 30 degrees C and 9, respectively, and the Km and Vmax were determined to be 4.24 micromol l(-1) and 3.7 micromol l(-1) min(-1) mg(-1) protein, respectively.     

Involvement of plasmids in total degradation of chlorinated biphenyls.

Acinetobacter sp. strain P6 has previously been reported to utilize biphenyl (BP) and chlorinated BPs, with accumulation of corresponding chlorobenzoic acids. Arthrobacter sp. strain M5 was isolated as a contaminant in the culture of Acinetobacter sp. strain P6 growing on 4-chlorobiphenyl and showed properties similar to P6 in the degradation of chlorinated BPs. Both strains harbored an identical plasmid of 53.7 megadaltons. These strains spontaneously lost the ability to utilize BP and 4-chlorobiphenyl with high frequency (4 to 8%) after overnight growth in nutrient broth. The BP- derivatives could not regain the BP-assimilating ability (reversion frequency, less than 10(-9) per cell per generation) but retained the plasmid with small, detectable deletions. BP+ P6 cells grown on BP or benzoate oxidized BP and 2,3-dihydroxybiphenyl and produced meta cleavage compounds from the latter compound (lambda max, 434 nm) and also from catechol (lambda max, 375 nm) through the meta pathway. On the other hand, benzoate-grown BP- segregants totally lost the BP-metabolizing activities and oxidized catechol through the ortho pathway. A combined culture of the chlorinated BP-dissimilating P6 or M5 strain (harboring the putative 53.7-megadalton plasmid specifying conversion of chlorobiphenyls to chlorobenzoic acids) and genetically constructed mono- or dichlorobenzoate-utilizing pseudomonads (harboring plasmids encoding complete utilization of mono- or dichlorobenzoates) allowed greater than 98% utilization of mono- and dichlorobiphenyls, with the liberation of equivalent amounts of chloride ions.     

Phenol degradation by yeasts isolated from industrial effluents

Yeast strains of the genera Aureobasidium, Rhodotorula and Trichosporon were isolated from stainless steel effluents and tested for their ability to utilize phenol as the sole carbon source. Fourteen strains grew in the presence of up to 10 mm phenol. Only the strain Trichosporon sp. LE3 was able to grow in the presence of up to 20 mm phenol. An inhibitory effect was observed at concentrations higher than 11 mm, resulting in reduction of specific growth rates. Phenol degradation was a function of strain, time of incubation and initial phenol concentration. All strains exhibited activity of catechol 1,2-dioxygenase and phenol hydroxylase in free cell extracts from cells grown on phenol, suggesting that catechol was oxidized by the ortho type of ring fission. Addition of glucose and benzoate reduced the phenol consumption rate, and both substrates were used simultaneously. Glucose concentrations higher than 0.25% inhibited the induction of phenol oxidation by non-proliferating cells and inhibited phenol oxidation by pre-induced cells.     

Isolation and identification of two novel butenolides as products of dimethylbenzoate metabolism by Rhodococcus rhodochrous N75

Abstract 3,4-Dimethylbenzoic acid and 3,5-dimethylbenzoic acid were both oxidised by 4-methylbenzoate ( p -toluate)-grown cells of Rhodococcus rhodochrous N75 via the ortho -pathway through the intermediates 3,4- and 3,5-dimethylcatechol, respectively. Owing to the formation of the two novel dead-end metabolites, 4-carboxymethyl-2,3-dimethylbut-2-en-1,4-olide and 4-carboxymethyl-2,4-dimethylbut-2-en-1,4-olide from these substrates, 3,4- and 3,5-dimethylbenzoate did not serve as growth substrates for the strain.