Degradation of cyanuric acid in soil by Pseudomonas sp. NRRL B-12227 using bioremediation with self-immobilization system

Robustness of anaerobes exposed to cyanuric acid contaminated wastewater and achieving efficient removal via optimized co-digestion scheme

The impact of various industrial pollutants on anaerobes and the biodegradation potentials need much emphasis. This study aims to investigate the response of anaerobic microbial systems to cyanuric acid (CA) exposure; CA is toxic and possible carcinogen. First, the long-term exposure of mixed culture bacteria (i.e., municipal sludge) to low-strength wastewater containing 20 mg/L CA was conducted in an up-flow anaerobic staged reactor. Stable performance and sludge granulation were observed, and the microbial community structure showed the progression of genus Acinetobacter known as CA degrader. Second, batch-mode experiment was performed to examine the CA biodegradability at higher doses (up to 250 mg/L of CA) in the absence and presence of glucose as a co-substrate; response surface-based optimization was used to design this experiment and to estimate the optimum CA-glucose combination. CA removal of 77-98% was achieved when CA was co-digested with glucose (250-1,000 mg/L), after 7 days-incubation at temperature of 37 °C, compared to 34% when CA was solely digested. Further, the obtained methane yield dropped when CA exceeded over 125 mg/L, though the deterioration was mitigated by addition of higher concentration of glucose. Overall, we conclude that CA is efficiently degraded under anaerobic conditions when being co-digested with readily assimilable substrate.

Genetic evidence of a high-affinity cyanuric acid transport system in Pseudomonas sp. ADP

The Pseudomonas sp. ADP plasmid pADP-1 encodes the activities involved in the hydrolytic degradation of the s-triazine herbicide atrazine. Here, we explore the presence of a specific transport system for the central intermediate of the atrazine utilization pathway, cyanuric acid, in Pseudomonas sp. ADP. Growth in fed-batch cultures containing limiting cyanuric acid concentrations is consistent with high-affinity transport of this substrate. Acquisition of the ability to grow at low cyanuric acid concentrations upon conjugal transfer of pADP1 to the nondegrading host Pseudomonas putida KT2442 suggests that all activities required for this phenotype are encoded in this plasmid. Co-expression of the pADP1-borne atzDEF and atzTUVW genes, encoding the cyanuric acid utilization pathway and the subunits of an ABC-type solute transport system, in P. putida KT2442 was sufficient to promote growth at cyanuric acid concentrations as low as 50 μM in batch culture. Taken together, our results strongly suggest that the atzTUVW gene products are involved in high-affinity transport of cyanuric acid.

Transcriptional organization and regulatory elements of a Pseudomonas sp. strain ADP operon encoding a LysR-type regulator and a putative solute transport system

The atzS-atzT-atzU-atzV-atzW gene cluster of the Pseudomonas sp. strain ADP atrazine-degradative plasmid pADP-1, which carries genes for an outer membrane protein and the components of a putative ABC-type solute transporter, is located downstream from atzR, which encodes the LysR-type transcriptional regulator of the cyanuric acid-degradative operon atzDEF. Here we describe the transcriptional organization of these genes. Our results show that all six genes are cotranscribed from the PatzR promoter to form the atzRSTUVW operon. A second, stronger promoter, PatzT, is found within atzS and directs transcription of the four distal genes. PatzT is σ(N) dependent, activated by NtrC in response to nitrogen limitation with the aid of IHF, and repressed by AtzR. A combination of in vivo mutational analysis and primer extension allowed us to locate the PatzT promoter and map the transcriptional start site. Similarly, we used deletion and point mutation analyses, along with in vivo expression studies and in vitro binding assays, to locate the NtrC, IHF, and AtzR binding sites and address their functionality. Our results suggest a regulatory model in which NtrC activates PatzT transcription via DNA looping, while AtzR acts as an antiactivator that diminishes expression by interfering with the activation process.