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Plasmid-Encoded Genes Specifying Aniline Oxidation from Acinetobacter sp. Strain YAA

1997; Microbiology Society; Volume: 143; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1099/00221287-143-1-93

1465-2080

Toshiki Fujii, Masahiro Takeo, Yoshimichi Maeda,

Microbial Community Ecology and Physiology

Acinetobacter sp. strain YAA is able to use aniline and o-toluidine as the sole carbon and energy source. This strain has several different plasmids and acridine orange curing suggested that aniline utilization in strain YAA was plasmid-encoded. The gene cluster involved in aniline oxidation was cloned in Escherichia coli JM109 from the total plasmid DNA of strain YAA. A recombinant E. coli containing an 18.5 kb insert fragment showed yellow colouration on aniline-containing plates, indicating the formation of 2-hydroxymuconic semialdehyde from aniline. In addition, subcloning of a 9.0 kb Sal l fragment from the insert in E. coli resulted in the accumulation of catechol. Southern hybridization studies indicated that the aniline oxygenase gene ( atdA ) was present on one of the plasmids, pYA1. These results suggest that in strain YAA aniline is degraded via catechol through a pathway involving meta-cleavage of the benzene-ring by plasmid-encoded genes including atdA .