Biodegradation of the chlorophenoxy herbicide (R)-(+)-mecoprop by Alcaligenes denitrificans

An Alcaligenes denitrificans strain capable of utilizing theherbicide (R)-(+)-2(2-methyl-4-chlorophenoxy)propionicacid (mecoprop) as a sole carbon source was isolated fromsoil and cultured in liquid medium. Crude cell extracts of thebacterium were utilized in spectrophotometric assays toelucidate a biochemical pathway for degradation ofmecoprop. Results indicated a reaction sequence analogousto the degradation of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D).GC-MS analysis provided direct evidence for thebiotransformation of mecoprop to the transient metabolite4-chloro-2-methylphenol (MCP). No NADPH-dependentactivity was observed during this reaction. Pyruvate wasverified as the second product derived from the aliphatic sidechain of mecoprop. MCP was subsequently transformed to asubstituted catechol by an NADPH-dependentmonooxygenase. When grown on mecoprop, A.denitrificans was adapted to oxidize catechol and its 4- and3-methylated derivatives indicating the broad substratespecificity of catechol dioxygenase. The microorganism wasdemonstrated to adopt the ortho mechanism of aromaticcleavage which resulted in the formation of2-methyl-4-carboxymethylene but-2-en-4-olide, a reactionintermediate of the -ketoadipate pathway.