This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Reprints and Permissions Copyright Information Books from ASM Press MicrobeWorld Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Mitsui, R. Articles by Tanaka, M. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Mitsui, R. Articles by Tanaka, M. Agricola Articles by Mitsui, R. Articles by Tanaka, M.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, October 2003, p. 6128-6132, Vol. 69, No. 10
0099-2240/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AEM.69.10.6128-6132.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Formaldehyde Fixation Contributes to Detoxification for Growth of a Nonmethylotroph, Burkholderia cepacia TM1, on Vanillic Acid

Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Okayama University of Science, Okayama 700-0005,¹ Division of Applied Life Sciences, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Kitashirakawa-Oiwake, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8502, Japan²

Received 2 May 2003/ Accepted 5 August 2003

During bacterial degradation of methoxylated lignin monomers, such as vanillin and vanillic acid, formaldehyde is released through the reaction catalyzed by vanillic acid demethylase. When Burkholderia cepacia TM1 was grown on vanillin or vanillic acid as the sole carbon source, the enzymes 3-hexulose-6-phosphate synthase (HPS) and 6-phospho-3-hexuloisomerase (PHI) were induced. These enzymes were also expressed during growth on Luria-Bertani medium containing formaldehyde. To understand the roles of these enzymes, the hps and phi genes from a methylotrophic bacterium, Methylomonas aminofaciens 77a, were introduced into B. cepacia TM1. The transformant strain constitutively expressed the genes for HPS and PHI, and these activities were two- or threefold higher than the activities in the wild strain. Incorporation of [¹⁴C]formaldehyde into the cell constituents was increased by overexpression of the genes. Furthermore, the degradation of vanillic acid and the growth yield were significantly improved at a high concentration of vanillic acid (60 mM) in the transformant strain. These results suggest that HPS and PHI play significant roles in the detoxification and assimilation of formaldehyde. This is the first report that enhancement of the HPS/PHI pathway could improve the degradation of vanillic acid in nonmethylotrophic bacteria.

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Ohhata, N., Yoshida, N., Egami, H., Katsuragi, T., Tani, Y., Takagi, H. (2007). An Extremely Oligotrophic Bacterium, Rhodococcus erythropolis N9T-4, Isolated from Crude Oil. J. Bacteriol. 189: 6824-6831 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Jakobsen, O. M., Benichou, A., Flickinger, M. C., Valla, S., Ellingsen, T. E., Brautaset, T. (2006). Upregulated Transcription of Plasmid and Chromosomal Ribulose Monophosphate Pathway Genes Is Critical for Methanol Assimilation Rate and Methanol Tolerance in the Methylotrophic Bacterium Bacillus methanolicus.. J. Bacteriol. 188: 3063-3072 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Orita, I., Yurimoto, H., Hirai, R., Kawarabayasi, Y., Sakai, Y., Kato, N. (2005). The Archaeon Pyrococcus horikoshii Possesses a Bifunctional Enzyme for Formaldehyde Fixation via the Ribulose Monophosphate Pathway. J. Bacteriol. 187: 3636-3642 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Denef, V. J., Park, J., Tsoi, T. V., Rouillard, J.-M., Zhang, H., Wibbenmeyer, J. A., Verstraete, W., Gulari, E., Hashsham, S. A., Tiedje, J. M. (2004). Biphenyl and Benzoate Metabolism in a Genomic Context: Outlining Genome-Wide Metabolic Networks in Burkholderia xenovorans LB400. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 70: 4961-4970 [Abstract] [Full Text]