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Enzymatic and genetic profiles in environmental strains grown on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

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Abstract

The possible generation of oxidative stress induced by aromatic hydrocarbon degradation suggests that ancillary enzyme activities could facilitate the utilization of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons as sole carbon source. To investigate the metabolic profiles of low molecular weight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon-degrading strains of Sphingobium chlorophenolicum, Rhodococcus aetherovorans, Rhodococcus opacus and Mycobacterium smegmatis, the determination of the activity of putative detoxifying enzymes (rhodanese-like and glutathione S-transferase proteins) was combined with genetic analyses. All the studied strains were able to utilize phenanthrene or naphthalene. Glutathione S-transferase activity was found in S. chlorophenolicum strains grown on phenanthrene and it was related to the presence of the bphK gene, since modulation of glutathione S-transferase activity by phenanthrene paralleled the induction of glutathione S-transferase transcript in the S. chlorophenolicum strains. No glutathione S-transferase activity was detectable in R. aetherovorans, R. opacus and in M. smegmatis strains. All strains showed 3-mercaptopyruvate:cyanide sulfurtransferase activity. A rhodanese-like SseA protein was immunodetected in R. aetherovorans, R. opacus and in M. smegmatis strains, where increase of 3-mercaptopyruvate:cyanide sulfurtransferase activity was significantly induced by growth on phenanthrene.

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Abbreviations

bphK :

gene for glutathione S-transferase

CDNB:

1,dichloro-2,4-nitrobenzene

GST:

glutathione S-transferase

MST:

3-mercaptopyruvate:cyanide sulfurtransferase

PAHs:

polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

phnA1 :

gene for 3,4-phenanthrene dioxygenase

ROS:

reactive oxygen species

TST:

thiosulfate:cyanide sulfurtransferase

xylE :

2,3-catechol dioxygenase

xylX :

ring hydroxylating dioxygenase

narAa :

naphthalene dioxygenase

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by Italian National Research Program PRIN 2003 “Selezione di colture batteriche per la degradazione di POP e loro monitoraggio in processi di bioarricchimento dei suoli”.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Science e Tecnologie, Alimentari e Microbiologiche, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 2, 20133, Milano, Italy

    Lucia Cavalca, Milena Colombo & Vincenza Andreoni

  2. Dipartimento di Scienze Molecolari Agroalimentari, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 2, 20133, Milano, Italy

    Nicoletta Guerrieri & Silvia Pagani

Authors
  1. Lucia Cavalca
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  2. Nicoletta Guerrieri
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  3. Milena Colombo
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  4. Silvia Pagani
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  5. Vincenza Andreoni
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Silvia Pagani.

Additional information

Sequence accession numbers: narAa of 1BN was under the GeneBank acc. num.: AJ401612.

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Cavalca, L., Guerrieri, N., Colombo, M. et al. Enzymatic and genetic profiles in environmental strains grown on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek 91, 315–325 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10482-006-9119-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10482-006-9119-1

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