The extracellular accumulation of metabolic products by hydrocarbon-degrading microorganisms

Newly Isolated Alkane Hydroxylase and Lipase Producing Geobacillus and Anoxybacillus Species Involved in Crude Oil Degradation

Isolation and studies of novel, crude oil biodegrading thermophilic strains may provide a wider knowledge in understanding their role in petroleum degradation. In this study, the screening of ten new thermophilic strains revealed that all strains were alkane hydroxylase producers and seven of them produced lipase concurrently. Three best strains were characterized and identified through 16S rRNA sequence analysis as Geobacillus sp. D4, Geobacillus sp. D7, and Anoxybacillus geothermalis D9 with GenBank accession numbers MK615934.1, MK615935.1, and MK615936.1, respectively. Gas chromatography (GC) analysis showed that all three strains were able to breakdown various compounds in crude oil such as alkanes, toxic poly-aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), organosulfur, carboxylic acids, alkene, resins, organosilicon, alcohol, organochlorine, and ester. For the first time, alkane hydroxylase and lipase activity as well as crude oil degradation by A. geothermalis species were reported. Geobacillus sp. D7 is the best alkane degrader followed by A. geothermalis D9 and Geobacillus sp. D4 with 17.3%, 13.1%, and 12.1% biodegradation efficiency (BE%), respectively. The potential of thermophiles isolated can be explored further for bioremediation of sites polluted by petroleum and oil spills.

Identification of cyclopropyl fatty acids in walnut (Juglans regia L.) oil

AIM

Identification of cyclopropyl fatty acids in walnut oil.

METHOD

GC/MS method was developed for the determination of eight cyclopropyl fatty acids in walnut (Juglans regia) oil.

RESULTS

Monocyclopropane acids: methyl 9-cyclopropyl-nonanoate, 6,7-methylene-, 8,9-methylene-, 9,10-methylene-, 11,12-methylene octadecanoates, and dicyclic acid - methyl 9,10,12,13-dimethylene octadecanoate, tricyclic acid - methyl 9,10,12,13,15,16-trimethylene octadecanoate, and unsaturated - methyl 2-octylcyclopropene-1-octanoate were detected in walnut oil by GC-MS and their mass spectra studied. Four cyclic fatty acids were identified for the fist time in seed oils.

CONCLUSIONS

Eight cyclopropyl fatty acids were detected in the Mediterranean nuts for the first time.

Degradation pathways of cyclic alkanes in Rhodococcus sp. NDKK48

The degradation pathways for cyclic alkanes (c-alkanes) in Rhodococcus sp. NDKK48 were investigated. Strain NDKK48 used dodecylcyclohexane as a sole carbon and energy source, and five metabolites in the dodecylcyclohexane degradation pathway were detected by gas-chromatography/mass spectra. The metabolites were identified as cyclohexanecarboxylic acid, cyclohexylacetic acid, 1-cyclohexene-1-acetic acid, 4-dodecylcyclohexanol, and 4-dodecylcyclohexanone. The strain degrades dodecylcyclohexane via a ring oxidation pathway and an alkyl side chain oxidation pathway. Cyclohexanecarboxylic acid was further oxidized to muconic acid via 1-cyclohexene-1-carboxylic acid and benzoic acid, and the muconic acid was finally used by strain NDKK48 for growth. Methylcyclohexane and cyclohexane were co-oxidized with hexadecane by strain NDKK48. Methylcyclohexane was degraded via a ring oxidation pathway, and the degradation pathway contained part of the Baeyer-Villiger oxidation for ring cleavage. Cyclohexane was also degraded by the same pathway as methylcyclohexane. Thus, strain NDKK48 has two pathways for the complete degradation of c-alkanes.

2-Naphthoate catabolic pathway in Burkholderia strain JT 1500

Burkholderia strain (JT 1500), able to use 2-naphthoate as the sole source of carbon, was isolated from soil. On the basis of growth characteristics, oxygen uptake experiments, enzyme assays, and detection of intermediates, a degradation pathway of 2-naphthoate is proposed. The features of this pathway are convergent with those for phenanthrene. We propose a pathway for the conversion of 2-naphthoate to 1 mol (each) of pyruvate, succinate, and acetyl coenzyme A and 2 mol of CO2. During growth in the presence of 2-naphthoate, six metabolites were detected by thin-layer chromatography, high-performance liquid chromatography, and spectroscopy. 1-Hydroxy-2-naphthoate accumulated in the culture broth during growth on 2-naphthoate. Also, the formation of 2'-carboxybenzalpyruvate, phthalaldehydate, phthalate, protocatechuate, and beta-carboxy-cis,cis-muconic acid was demonstrated. (1R,2S)-cis-1,2-Dihydro-1,2-dihydroxy-2-naphthoate was thus considered an intermediate between 2-naphthoate and 1-hydroxy-2-naphthoate, but it was not transformed by whole cells or their extracts. We conclude that this diol is not responsible for the formation of 1-hydroxy-2-naphthoate from 2-naphthoate but that one of the other three diastereomers is not eliminated as a potential intermediate for a dehydration reaction.

Methionine production by microorganisms

Microbial production of methionine is reviewed with 73 references. The review describes different methionine-producing organisms, as well as analog-resistant regulatory mutants, their optimum cultural conditions and yields. The pathways of methionine biosynthesis and their regulation are discussed.

Biodegradation studies of hydrocarbons in soils by analyzing metabolites formed

Microbial degradation of diesel fuel and lubricating oil was studied in artificial soils. Soon after 1 week and until the end of the study (25 weeks) organic acids and ketones which were not original components of the oils contaminating the soil samples were identified. Predominantly alicyclic and branched-chain aliphatic organic acids as well as diacids and aromatic ketones were formed by degradation. Further degradation of these alicyclic acids was observed. Similar oxidized products were also identified in actual contaminated soils.

Purification and characterization of invertase from a novel industrial yeast, Schwanniomyces occidentalis

The use of yeast as an expression system for heterologous proteins offers several potential advantages with respect to industrial scale-up and genetics over other expression systems, but suffers from several drawbacks. For example, the secreted proteins of S. cerevisiae, found in the periplasm, are hyperglycosylated and the organism has a limited range of usable substrates. Other yeasts have similar disadvantages in addition to producing a variety of proteases. We have investigated the use of Schwanniomyces occidentalis as a host for developing a gene expression system in which these and several disadvantages are minimized. The present paper describes the isolation and characterization of an invertase from cell free supernatants of the yeast Schwanniomyces occidentalis grown on lactose. The enzyme is a beta-D-fructofuranoside-fructohydrolyase, composed of two identical subunits of 76,000 to 78,000 da. with a native molecular mass of 125,000 +/- 25,000 da. of which approximately 17% can be attributed to N-linked carbohydrate. The enzyme has a Vmax of 0.49 +/- 0.025 units, a Km of 21 +/- 1.5 mM, and temperature and pH optima of 55 degrees C and 3.9-4.5, respectively. The amino acid sequences of the amino terminal region and an internal tryptic peptide support an 81% identity with the invertase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The enzyme is induced by low glucose and is catabolite repressed.

Transformation of Schwanniomyces occidentalis with an ADE2 gene cloned from S. occidentalis

We have developed an efficient transformation system for the industrial yeast Schwanniomyces occidentalis (formerly Schwanniomyces castellii). The transformation system is based on ade2 mutants of S. occidentalis deficient for phosphoribosylaminoimidazole carboxylase that were generated by mutagenesis. As a selectable marker, we isolated and characterized the S. occidentalis ADE2 gene by complementation in an ade2 strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. S. occidentalis was transformed with the recombinant plasmid pADE, consisting of a 4.5-kilobase-pair (kbp) DNA fragment from S. occidentalis containing the ADE2 gene inserted into the S. cerevisiae expression vector pYcDE8 by a modification of the spheroplasting procedure of Beggs (J. D. Beggs, Nature [London] 275:104-108, 1978). Intact plasmids were recovered in Escherichia coli from whole-cell lysates of ADE+ transformants, indicating that plasmids were replicating autonomously. High-molecular-mass species of pADE2 were found by Southern hybridization analysis of intact genomic DNA preparations. The shift to higher molecular mass of these plasmids during electrophoresis in the presence ethidium bromide after exposure to shortwave UV suggests that they exist in a supercoiled form in the transformed host. Subclones of the 4.5-kbp insert indicated that ADE2-complementing activity and sequences conferring autonomous replication in S. occidentalis were located within a 2.7-kbp EcoRI-SphI fragment. Plasmids containing this region cloned into the bacterial vector pUC19 complemented ade2 mutants of S. occidentalis with efficiencies identical to those of the original plasmid pADE.

Two-Stage Mineralization of Phenanthrene by Estuarine Enrichment Cultures

The polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon phenanthrene was mineralized in two stages by soil, estuarine water, and sediment microbial populations. At high concentrations, phenanthrene was degraded, with the concomitant production of biomass and accumulation of Folin-Ciocalteau-reactive aromatic intermediates. Subsequent consumption of these intermediates resulted in a secondary increase in biomass. Analysis of intermediates by high-performance liquid chromatography, thin-layer chromatography, and UV absorption spectrometry showed 1-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid (1H2NA) to be the predominant product. A less pronounced two-stage mineralization pattern was also observed by monitoring 14 CO 2 production from low concentrations (0.5 mg liter −1 ) of radiolabeled phenanthrene. Here, mineralization of 14 C-labeled 1H2NA could explain the incremental 14 CO 2 produced during the later part of the incubations. Accumulation of 1H2NA by isolates obtained from enrichments was dependent on the initial phenanthrene concentration. The production of metabolites during polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon biodegradation is discussed with regard to its possible adaptive significance and its methodological implications.

Production of methionine and glutamic acid from n-alkanes by Serratia marcescens var. kiliensis

A hydrocarbon-utilizing Serratia marcescens var. kiliensis grew and accumulated methionine and glutamic acid in a synthetic medium with hydrocarbon as sole carbon source. n-Hexadecane and ammonium phosphate were found as the most suitable carbon and nitrogen sources, respectively. Optimum pH for growth and methionine production was 7.2, and that for glutamic acid accumulation was 7.4. Yeast extract significantly stimulated growth and amino acid production and could be substituted by cyanocobalamine. Benzylpenicillin, Tween 80, SDS or EDTA did not increase amino acid production. Under optimal cultural conditions in the laboratory the organism produced 1.68 g of glutamic acid and 0.78 g of methionine per litre.

Synthesis of 1,2-Epoxyoctane by Pseudomonas oleovorans During Growth in a Two-Phase System Containing High Concentrations of 1-Octene

We have optimized and compared the synthesis of 1,2-epoxyoctane from 1-octene by resting and by growing cells of Pseudomonas oleovorans. The net production of 1,2-epoxyoctane by resting cells never exceeded 0.6 mg/ml of suspension. In contrast, P. oleovorans produced much more epoxide when it was grown on high levels of 1-octene. To raise the total production of epoxide, the octene layer was repeatedly transferred to fresh, growing cultures of P. oleovorans. By using this approach, a maximum of 28 mg of epoxide was synthesized per ml of total culture, resulting in the accumulation of ca. 75 mg of epoxide per ml in the octene phase.

Incorporation of 32 P and Growth of Pseudomonad UP-2 on n -Tetracosane

Cultures of the marine pseudomonad UP-2 growing on n -tetracosane contained both free cells and cells bound to the solid hydrocarbon. After separation by filtration through a Whatman no. 1 filter, the numbers of free and bound cells were estimated from the amount of 32 P incorporated into each fraction and the determined value of 32 P incorporation per viable cell in the filtrate (free cells). During the early exponential growth phase, over 80% of the cells were bound to large pieces of n -tetracosane; as the culture approached the stationary phase, the number of bound cells remained constant, whereas free cells continued to accumulate. Pulse-labeling experiments indicated that cells grew both on the surface of the solid and in the aqueous medium. During the growth cycle, a portion of the n -tetracosane which was initially nonfilterable was recovered in the filtrate in a form which was largely cell associated. This cell-associated n -tetracosane was preferentially utilized and could completely account for the observed growth of free cells.

[Oxidative degradation of dibenzylsulfide]

Dibenzylsulfid (DBS) as a model of the organic sulfur compounds in crude oil was converted by a mixed culture (containing Pseudomonas aeruginosa) into several water soluble organic substances. Whereas these compounds are detectable with DC- and IR-spectroscopic techniques, benzylmercaptoacetic acid (BMA) was the only isolated product of DBS utilization. Efficiency of degradation, respectively, accumulation of BMA were dependent on aeration and pH-regulation.

Bacterial metabolism of para- and meta-xylene: oxidation of the aromatic ring

Pseudomonas putida 39/D oxidized p-xylene to cis-3,6-dimethyl-3,5-cyclohexadiene-1,2-diol (cis-p-xylene dihydrodiol). The latter compound was isolated in crystalline form and its physical properties were determined. The cis configuration of the hydroxyl groups in the oxidation product was inferred from its ability to form an isopropylidene derivative with 2,2-dimethoxypropane. Acid treatment of cis-p-xylene dihydrodiol resulted in the formation of 2,5-dimethylphenol. A partially purified preparation of cis-toluene dihydrodiol dehydrogenase oxidized cis-p-xylene dihydrodiol to 1,2-dihydroxy-3,6-dimethylbenzene (3,6-dimethylpyrocatechol). P. putida 39/D oxidized m-xylene to a compound whose spectral and chromatographic characteristics were consistent with the structure 3,5-dimethyl-3,5-cyclohexadiene-1,2-diol. This product was very unstable, and all attempts to isolate it led to the formation of 2,4-dimethylphenol.

Pseudomonas oleovorans hydroxylation-epoxidation system: additional strain improvements

The isolation and characterization of a strain of Pseudomonas oleovorans which epoxidates 1-octene at a rate nine times that of the original strain are described. In addition, it has been confirmed that a greater amount of the mono-epoxide product is formed from 1,7-octadiene than is formed from 1-octene. 1,7-octadiene will not support growth, but will induce the enzymes required for epoxidation.