Naphthalene degradation

Hatta T, G Mukleijee-Dhar, J Damborsky, H Kiyohara (2003) Characterization of a novel thermostable Mn(ll)-dependent 2,3-dihydroxybiphenyl 1,2-dioxygenase from polychlorinated biphenyl- and naphthalene-degrading Bacillus sp. JE8. J Biol Chem 278 21483-21492. 

An issue of particular relevance in the context of bioremediation is illustrated by the increased rate of cell death in an established naphthalene-degrading Pseudomonas putida G7 brought about by the substrate (naphthalene) under conditions of oxygen (or combined oxygen and nitrogen) limitation (Ahn et al. 1998). 

Ogunseitan OA, IL Deklgado, Y-L Tsai, BH Olson (1991) Effect of 2-hydroxybenzoate on the maintenance of naphthalene-degrading pseudomonads in seeded and unseeded soils. Appl Environ Microbiol 57 2873-2879. 

Grund E, B Denecke, R Eichenlaub (1992) Naphthalene degradation via salicylate and gentisate by Rhodococ-cus sp strain B4. Appl Environ Microbiol 58 1874-1877. 

Meckenstock RU, E Annweiler, W Michaelis, HH Richnow, B Schink (2000) Anaerobic naphthalene degradation by a sulfate-reducing enrichment culture. Appl Environ Microbiol 66 2743-2747. 

The degradation of salicylate to catechol is initiated by monooxygenation accompanied by decarboxylation (salicylate-l-hydroxylase), and two different and independent salicylate hydroxylases have been found in the naphthalene-degrading Pseudomonas stutzeri ANIO (Bosch et al. 1999). Alternatively, in Rhodococcus sp. strain B4, salicylate is hydroxylated to 2,5-dihydroxybenzoate by salicylate-5-hydroxylase (Grand et al. 1992). An alternative occurs for 5-hydroxy- and 5-aminosalicylate in Pseudaminobacter salicylatoxidans in which ring fission is accomplished directly (Hintner et al. 2001). 

Guerin WF, SA Boyd (1992) Maintenance and induction of naphthalene degradation activity in Pseudomonas putida and an Alcaligenes sp under different culture conditions. Appl Environ Microbiol 61 4061-4068. 

Kniper I, LV Kravchenko, GV Bloemberg, BJJ Lugtenberg (2002) Pseudomonas putida strain PC L1444, selected for efficient root colonization and naphthalene degradation, effectively utilizes root exudate components. Mol Plant-Microbe Interact 15 734-741. 

Fig. 3. Plots of initial mineralization rates (IMR) versus equilibrium aqueous phase concentrations for naphthalene-degrading bacteria. Open circles represent Capac soil, closed circles represent Colwood soil, and squares represent soil-free control data points. Reprinted with permission from Guerin and Boyd (1992). Copyright (1992) American Society for Microbiology.

Marx, R. B. and Aitken, M. D. (2000). Bacterial chemotaxis enhances naphthalene degradation in a heterogeneous aqueous system, Environ. Sci. Technol., 34, 3379-3383. 

Assays of Naphthalene Degradation. Washed cell experiments were used to compare the naphthalene degrading abilities of B. megaterium (both unselected and selected with naphthalene), B. subtilis, and transformants which showed degradative ability in the screenmg tests. Washed cells were prepared as described above and suspended at a concentration of 25 mg (Experiment 1) or 6 mg (Experiment 2) of cells per milliliter of buffer. Autoclaved cell suspensions were used as controls and account for all possible fates of the naphthalene other than metabolism. 

Figure 3. Autoradiographic detection of naphthalene degradative bacterial colonies from MGP soil enrichments used as inoculum for continuous stirred soil slurry bioreactors.

Figure 5. Bioluminescent light emissions from colonies of engineered naphthalene degrading bacteria which respond as bioluminescent reporters of degradative activity.

Figure 6. Remote sensing of light emission from naphthalene degradative bioluminescent reporter bacteria in sandy aquifer lab simulation. (Y axis, relative light output ...

Blackburn, J.W., R.K. Jain and G.S. Sayler. 1987. The molecular microbial ecology of a Naphthalene-degrading genotype in activated sludge. Environ. Sd. Technol. 21 884-890. 

Figure 17.2 Variation in time courses of naphthalene degradation by microorganisms in laboratory soil-water incubations with 02 present ( ) or no 02 present (o). Data from Mihelcic and Luthy, 1988.

The coordinated induction of the two degradative operons is not a universal characteristic of the system. In Rbodococcus sp. strain B4, isolated from a soil sample contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, salicylate does not induce the genes of the naphthalene-degradative pathway (Grund et al., 1992). 

Grund, E., Denecke, B. Eichenlaub, R. (1992). Naphthalene degradation via salicylate and gentisate by Rhodococcus sp. strain B4. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 58,1874-7. 

Jeon, C. O., Park, W., Ghiorse, W. C. Madsen, E. L. (2004). Polaromonas naphthalenivorans sp. nov., a naphthalene-degrading bacterium from naphthalene-contaminated sediment. International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology,... 

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