Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Applied and Environmental Microbiology logoLink to Applied and Environmental Microbiology
. 1995 Feb;61(2):840–843. doi: 10.1128/aem.61.2.840-843.1995

Bacterial degradation of m-nitrobenzoic acid.

L J Nadeau 1, J C Spain 1
PMCID: PMC167348  PMID: 7574625

Abstract

Pseudomonas sp. strain JS51 grows on m-nitrobenzoate (m-NBA) with stoichiometric release of nitrite. m-NBA-grown cells oxidized m-NBA and protocatechuate but not 3-hydroxybenzoate, 4-hydroxy-3-nitrobenzoate, 4-nitrocatechol, and 1,2,4-benzenetriol. Protocatechuate accumulated transiently when succinate-grown cells were transferred to media containing m-NBA. Respirometric experiments indicated that the conversion of m-NBA to protocatechuate required 1 mol of oxygen per mol of substrate. Conversions conducted in the presence of 18O2 showed the incorporation of both atoms of molecular oxygen into protocatechuate. Extracts of m-NBA-grown cells cleaved protocatechuate to 2-hydroxy-4-carboxymuconic semialdehyde. These results provide rigorous proof that m-NBA is initially oxidized by a dioxygenase to produce protocatechuate which is further degraded by a 4,5-dioxygenase.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (186.4 KB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Arciero D. M., Orville A. M., Lipscomb J. D. Protocatechuate 4,5-dioxygenase from Pseudomonas testosteroni. Methods Enzymol. 1990;188:89–95. doi: 10.1016/0076-6879(90)88017-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Brilon C., Beckmann W., Knackmuss H. J. Catabolism of Naphthalenesulfonic Acids by Pseudomonas sp. A3 and Pseudomonas sp. C22. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1981 Jul;42(1):44–55. doi: 10.1128/aem.42.1.44-55.1981. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Bruhn C., Lenke H., Knackmuss H. J. Nitrosubstituted aromatic compounds as nitrogen source for bacteria. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1987 Jan;53(1):208–210. doi: 10.1128/aem.53.1.208-210.1987. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. CARTWRIGHT N. J., CAIN R. B. Bacterial degradation of the nitrobenzoic acids. Biochem J. 1959 Feb;71(2):248–261. doi: 10.1042/bj0710248. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Crawford R. L. Degradation of 3-hydroxybenzoate by bacteria of the genus Bacillus. Appl Microbiol. 1975 Sep;30(3):439–444. doi: 10.1128/am.30.3.439-444.1975. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Dickel O., Knackmuss H. J. Catabolism of 1,3-dinitrobenzene by Rhodococcus sp. QT-1. Arch Microbiol. 1991;157(1):76–79. doi: 10.1007/BF00245339. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Groenewegen P. E., Breeuwer P., van Helvoort J. M., Langenhoff A. A., de Vries F. P., de Bont J. A. Novel degradative pathway of 4-nitrobenzoate in Comamonas acidovorans NBA-10. J Gen Microbiol. 1992 Aug;138(Pt 8):1599–1605. doi: 10.1099/00221287-138-8-1599. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Haigler B. E., Nishino S. F., Spain J. C. Biodegradation of 4-methyl-5-nitrocatechol by Pseudomonas sp. strain DNT. J Bacteriol. 1994 Jun;176(11):3433–3437. doi: 10.1128/jb.176.11.3433-3437.1994. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Haigler B. E., Pettigrew C. A., Spain J. C. Biodegradation of mixtures of substituted benzenes by Pseudomonas sp. strain JS150. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1992 Jul;58(7):2237–2244. doi: 10.1128/aem.58.7.2237-2244.1992. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Haigler B. E., Spain J. C. Degradation of p-chlorotoluene by a mutant of Pseudomonas sp. strain JS6. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1989 Feb;55(2):372–379. doi: 10.1128/aem.55.2.372-379.1989. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Haigler B. E., Wallace W. H., Spain J. C. Biodegradation of 2-nitrotoluene by Pseudomonas sp. strain JS42. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1994 Sep;60(9):3466–3469. doi: 10.1128/aem.60.9.3466-3469.1994. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Harayama S., Kok M., Neidle E. L. Functional and evolutionary relationships among diverse oxygenases. Annu Rev Microbiol. 1992;46:565–601. doi: 10.1146/annurev.mi.46.100192.003025. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Jain R. K., Dreisbach J. H., Spain J. C. Biodegradation of p-nitrophenol via 1,2,4-benzenetriol by an Arthrobacter sp. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1994 Aug;60(8):3030–3032. doi: 10.1128/aem.60.8.3030-3032.1994. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Locher H. H., Leisinger T., Cook A. M. Degradation of p-toluenesulphonic acid via sidechain oxidation, desulphonation and meta ring cleavage in Pseudomonas (Comamonas) testosteroni T-2. J Gen Microbiol. 1989 Jul;135(7):1969–1978. doi: 10.1099/00221287-135-7-1969. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Markus A., Klages U., Krauss S., Lingens F. Oxidation and dehalogenation of 4-chlorophenylacetate by a two-component enzyme system from Pseudomonas sp. strain CBS3. J Bacteriol. 1984 Nov;160(2):618–621. doi: 10.1128/jb.160.2.618-621.1984. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Munnecke D. M., Hsieh D. P. Microbial decontamination of parathion and p-nitrophenol in aqueous media. Appl Microbiol. 1974 Aug;28(2):212–217. doi: 10.1128/am.28.2.212-217.1974. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. RIBBONS D. W., EVANS W. C. Oxidative metabolism of protocatechuic acid by certain soil pseudomonads: a new ring-fission mechanism. Biochem J. 1962 Jun;83:482–492. doi: 10.1042/bj0830482. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Spain J. C., Gibson D. T. Pathway for Biodegradation of p-Nitrophenol in a Moraxella sp. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1991 Mar;57(3):812–819. doi: 10.1128/aem.57.3.812-819.1991. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Spain J. C., Nishino S. F. Degradation of 1,4-dichlorobenzene by a Pseudomonas sp. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1987 May;53(5):1010–1019. doi: 10.1128/aem.53.5.1010-1019.1987. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Spanggord R. J., Spain J. C., Nishino S. F., Mortelmans K. E. Biodegradation of 2,4-dinitrotoluene by a Pseudomonas sp. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1991 Nov;57(11):3200–3205. doi: 10.1128/aem.57.11.3200-3205.1991. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Stanier R. Y., Ornston L. N. The beta-ketoadipate pathway. Adv Microb Physiol. 1973;9(0):89–151. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Wheelis M. L., Palleroni N. J., Stanier R. Y. The metabolism of aromatic acids by Pseudomonas testosteroni and P. acidovorans. Arch Mikrobiol. 1967;59(1):302–314. doi: 10.1007/BF00406344. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Zeyer J., Kocher H. P. Purification and characterization of a bacterial nitrophenol oxygenase which converts ortho-nitrophenol to catechol and nitrite. J Bacteriol. 1988 Apr;170(4):1789–1794. doi: 10.1128/jb.170.4.1789-1794.1988. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Applied and Environmental Microbiology are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

RESOURCES