Bypassing isophthalate inhibition by modulating glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH): purification and kinetic characterization of NADP-GDHs from isophthalate-degrading Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain PP4 and Acinetobacter lwoffii strain ISP4

Analysis of Phenol Biodegradation in Antibiotic and Heavy Metal Resistant Acinetobacter lwoffii NL1

Phenol is a common environmental contaminant. The purpose of this study was to isolate phenol-degrading microorganisms from wastewater in the sections of the Chinese Medicine Manufactory. The phenol-degrading Acinetobacter lwoffii NL1 was identified based on a combination of biochemical characteristics and 16S rRNA genes. To analyze the molecular mechanism, the whole genome of A. lwoffii NL1 was sequenced, yielding 3499 genes on one circular chromosome and three plasmids. Enzyme activity analysis showed that A. lwoffii NL1 degraded phenol via the ortho-cleavage rather than the meta-cleavage pathway. Key genes encoding phenol hydroxylase and catechol 1,2-dioxygenase were located on a megaplasmid (pNL1) and were found to be separated by mobile genetic elements; their function was validated by heterologous expression in Escherichia coli and quantitative real-time PCR. A. lwoffii NL1 could degrade 0.5 g/L phenol within 12 h and tolerate a maximum of 1.1 g/L phenol, and showed resistance against multiple antibiotics and heavy metal ions. Overall, this study shows that A. lwoffii NL1 can be potentially used for efficient phenol degradation in heavy metal wastewater treatment.

Degradation strategies and associated regulatory mechanisms/features for aromatic compound metabolism in bacteria

As a result of anthropogenic activity, large number of recalcitrant aromatic compounds have been released into the environment. Consequently, microbial communities have adapted and evolved to utilize these compounds as sole carbon source, under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions. The constitutive expression of enzymes necessary for metabolism imposes a heavy energy load on the microbe which is overcome by arrangement of degradative genes as operons which are induced by specific inducers. The segmentation of pathways into upper, middle and/or lower operons has allowed microbes to funnel multiple compounds into common key aromatic intermediates which are further metabolized through central carbon pathway. Various proteins belonging to diverse families have evolved to regulate the transcription of individual operons participating in aromatic catabolism. These proteins, complemented with global regulatory mechanisms, carry out the regulation of aromatic compound metabolic pathways in a concerted manner. Additionally, characteristics like chemotaxis, preferential utilization, pathway compartmentalization and biosurfactant production confer an advantage to the microbe, thus making bioremediation of the aromatic pollutants more efficient and effective.

Variability in Assembly of Degradation Operons for Naphthalene and its derivative, Carbaryl, Suggests Mobilization through Horizontal Gene Transfer

In the biosphere, the largest biological laboratory, increased anthropogenic activities have led microbes to evolve and adapt to the changes occurring in the environment. Compounds, specifically xenobiotics, released due to such activities persist in nature and undergo bio-magnification in the food web. Some of these compounds act as potent endocrine disrupters, mutagens or carcinogens, and therefore their removal from the environment is essential. Due to their persistence, microbial communities have evolved to metabolize them partially or completely. Diverse biochemical pathways have evolved or been assembled by exchange of genetic material (horizontal gene transfer) through various mobile genetic elements like conjugative and non-conjugative plasmids, transposons, phages and prophages, genomic islands and integrative conjugative elements. These elements provide an unlimited opportunity for genetic material to be exchanged across various genera, thus accelerating the evolution of a new xenobiotic degrading phenotype. In this article, we illustrate examples of the assembly of metabolic pathways involved in the degradation of naphthalene and its derivative, Carbaryl, which are speculated to have evolved or adapted through the above-mentioned processes.

Purification and side chain selective chemical modifications of glutamate dehydrogenase from Bacillus subtilis natto

Glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) from Bacillus subtilis natto was purified to apparent homogeneity by ammonium sulfate precipitation, ion-exchange chromatography, size exclusion chromatography, and hydroxyapatite (HA) affinity chromatography. The GDH was purified 34-fold, with a yield of 41 % of total activity and a specific activity of 34.29 U/mg proteins. The molecular weight (Mr) of was measured at 47 kDa with sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and 264 kDa with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The optimum pH and temperature for the deammoniation reaction were measured to be 7.5 and 30 °C, respectively. The active-site amino acid residues of GDH were investigated by chemical modification. The compounds 2,4,6-trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid (TNBS), phenylglyoxal (PG), and phenylmethanesulfonyl fluoride (PMSF) were used to modify lysine, arginine, and serine active site residues, respectively. After treatment with modifying reagents at concentrations of 1 mM, GDH activity fell to 10.7 % with TNBS, 83.3 % with PG, and 12.8 % with PMSF. However, with substrate protection, there was almost no loss in GDH activity following treatment with any modifying reagent. The kinetic parameters K m and V max were determined in each case. K m values for native GDH, 50 % TNBS-inactivated GDH, and 50 % PMSF-inactivated GDH were 0.037, 0.104, and 0.017 mM, respectively. V max values were 0.048, 0.022, and 0.031 mM/s, respectively. These results suggest that the active site contains one or more lysine residues that play a role in substrate binding and one or more serine residues that may maintain the enzyme conformation. However, arginine residues played less of a role in the activity of GDH.