Abstract
The anaerobic metabolism of 2-hydroxybenzoic acid (salicylic acid) was studied in a denitrifying bacterium. Cells grown with 2-hydroxybenzoate were simultaneously adapted to degrade benzoate. Extract of these cells formed benzoate or benzoyl-CoA when incubated under reducing conditions with salicylate, MgATP, and coenzyme A, suggesting a degradation of 2-hydroxybenzoate via benzoate or benzoyl-CoA. This suggestion was supported by enzyme activity measurements. In extracts of 2-hydroxybenzoate-grown cells, the following enzyme activities were detected: two CoA ligases, one specific for 2-hydroxybenzoate, the other for benzoate, and two different enzyme activities catalyzing the reductive transformation of 2-hydroxybenzoyl-CoA. These findings suggest a degradation of salicylic acid by two new enzymes, 2-hydroxybenzoate-CoA ligase (AMP-forming) and 2-hydroxybenzoyl-CoA reductase (dehydroxylating), catalyzing (1) 2-hydroxybenzoate + MgATP + CoASH → 2-hydroxybenzoyl-CoA + MgAMP + PPi (2) 2-hydroxybenzoyl-CoA + 2[H] → benzoyl-CoA + H2O Benzoyl-CoA was dearomatized by reduction of the ring. This represents another case in which benzoyl-CoA is a central intermediate in anaerobic aromatic metabolism.
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Received: 1 February 1996 / Accepted: 24 February 1996
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Bonting, C., Fuchs, G. Anaerobic metabolism of 2-hydroxybenzoic acid (salicylic acid) by a denitrifying bacterium. Arch Microbiol 165, 402–408 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/s002030050344
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s002030050344