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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, August 2002, p. 4061-4066, Vol. 68, No. 8
0099-2240/02/$04.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/AEM.68.8.4061-4066.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
Faculty of Bioresources, Mie University, Tsu 514-8507,1 National Institute for Agro-Environmental Sciences, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8604, Japan2
Received 16 January 2002/ Accepted 14 May 2002
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A gram-negative bacterium, Ralstonia eutropha (Alcaligenes eutrophus) NH9, isolated in Japan grows on a medium containing 3-chlorobenzoate as the sole carbon source and degrades 3-chlorobenzoate via 3-chlorocatechol via the modified ortho-cleavage pathway (8). A gene cluster cbnR-ABCD encodes the enzymes responsible for the degradation of chlorocatechol and is encoded on a large plasmid, pENH91. Chlorocatechols are converted to the 3-oxoadipate by the action of four enzymes and are funneled to the 3-oxoadipate pathway. The first enzyme, chlorocatechol 1,2-dioxygenase (EC 1.13.11), encoded by the cbnA gene, cleaves the aromatic ring of chlorocatechol with consumption of molecular oxygen. This enzyme reaction is one of the important steps for the degradation of chlorocatechols because cleavage of the aromatic ring reduces its toxic activity.
Bioremediation is a low-cost treatment alternative for the cleanup of chloroaromatic compound-contaminated soils and surface water. Microorganisms have been used to degrade organic substances in the biologic treatment of wastewater (10). In biodegradation of chlorinated aromatic compounds released in the environment, treatment with microorganisms that degrade these compounds have been extensively studied. Degradation by microorganisms can only occur, however, when environmental conditions are suitable. It is also difficult to maintain growth of these microorganisms in the polluted soil and surface water. Phytoremediation using plants to remove or inactivate pollutants from soil and surface water has received increasing attention in recent years (2). The use of plants for bioremediation is cost-effective, less disruptive to the environment, and is sustainable technology because plants use photosynthetic energy to degrade compounds and can be eventually used as biomass. To date, metal-accumulating plants that can clean up metals in soils were developed by genetic engineering techniques (5). Molecular breeding of transgenic plants that can degrade chloroaromatic compounds, however, has not yet been reported. This is the first report, to our knowledge, that describes the successful expression of a chlorocatechol-degrading gene in plants.
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FIG. 1. Plasmid construction used for transformation of rice plants. For transformation of rice plants, the cbnA gene was cloned between the E7131 promoter and CaMV35S terminator in pCAMBIA1300. E35S, E7131 promoter; hpt, the hygromycin phosphotransferase gene.
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PCR analysis of transgenic rice callus.
To analyze the integration of the cbnA gene in transgenic rice plants, PCR method was used. PCR was performed for 30 cycles (30 s at 94°C, 30 s at 60°C, 60 s at 72°C), using KOD-Dash polymerase using primers cbnA-F and cbnA-R, and genomic DNAs from the transformants as template
Antibody production.
Polyclonal anti-CbnA antibodies were generated in rabbits against a synthetic antigen peptide (Sawady Technologies, Tokyo, JAPAN) with the 14-amino-acid sequence of CbnA (NH2-WHSTPDGKYSGFHD-COOH) that corresponds to the 122nd through 135th amino acid residues. Rabbits were initially injected with 0.2 mg of the peptide with adjuvant, followed by two booster injections with equivalent amounts of peptide in adjuvant at 2-week intervals. Immunoaffinity antibody purification was performed by coupling 5.0 mg of antigen to 5 ml of agarose gel. The crude serum was applied to the gel-containing column. After the washes, the adsorbed protein was eluted at low pH and collected in Tris buffer to neutralize the elution buffer. The purified antibody was concentrated and dialyzed against phosphate buffered saline using an Amicon stirred cell concentrator.
Western blot analysis.
Leaf tissue (100 mg) of plants was harvested and ground in 1 ml of ice-cold extraction buffer (phosphate buffer ]pH 6.8], 50 mmol/liter; EDTA, 10 mmol/liter; 0.1% Triton; 0.1% Sarkosyl; dithiothreitol, 1 mmol/liter). The homogenate was centrifuged at 13,000 x g for 10 min at 4°C. The supernatant was used as a crude enzyme sample. The protein amount was determined using a DC protein assay kit II (Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc.). The crude enzyme samples were separated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). Proteins blotted onto Hybond P membrane (Amersham Pharmacia Biotech) from SDS-PAGE gel were probed with antibody against CbnA at a 1:1,000 dilution. Proteins recognized by the CbnA antibody were visualized by chemiluminescence Plus Western blotting detection kit (Amersham Pharmacia Biotech) as described in manufacturer's protocol.
Enzyme assay of chlorocatechol dioxygenase activity.
Quantitative enzyme assay of the transgenic calluses and leaf tissues was performed by incubating 1 ml of 2-mmol/liter 3-chlorocatechol in phosphate buffer (50 mmol/liter; pH 7.4) with transgenic calluses or leaf tissues. For transgenic rice calluses, 50 mg of the transgenic calluses grown on the solid medium was added to the 3-chlorocatechol solutions and incubated with gentle shaking. Leaf tissues (50 mg) from the transgenic rice plants were incubated with the 3-chlorocatechol solutions. After incubation, transformation of 3-chlorocatechol to 2-chlormuconate was analyzed using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). After incubation of transgenic callus or leaf tissues with 3-chlorocatechol as described above, substrate consumption in the supernatant was measured by HPLC (model CL 6A; Shimazu, Kyoto, Japan) on a unisil Q C18 (GL Sciences, Inc.) reverse-phase column, using acetonitrile:10-mmol/liter H3PO4 (pH 2.5) (50:50, vol/vol) as the solvent at a flow rate of 1 ml min-1. After injection of 20 µl of the sample, absorbance at 230 nm was measured. E. coli cells expressing the cbnA gene were incubated with 3-chlorocatechol and 3-chlorocatechol was converted to 2-chloromuconate. This was used as a standard of 2-chloromuconate to verify its retention time on HPLC analysis.
Other methods.
Genomic DNAs from rice callus and plants were isolated as described elsewhere (13). Other recombinant DNA methods were performed as described previously (10).
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FIG. 2. Dioxygenase activity in callus of different transgenic rice. Relative consumption of 3-chlorocatechol in the reaction mixture was shown. The concentration of 3-chlorocatechol in the reaction mixture was analyzed by HPLC. 3-chlorocatechol concentration in the reaction mixture with the control callus harboring only a Ti binary vector was shown as 100%.
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FIG. 3. PCR amplification of a 675-bp fragment of the cbnA gene integrated into transgenic rice calluses. The transgenic line number is indicated at the top of each lane. M, pCAMBIA-E35S-cbnA plasmid as a positive control for PCR; C, a control transgenic plant harboring a pCAMBIA vector.
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FIG. 4. Oxidation of 3-chlorocatechol to 2-chloromuconate by transgenic rice cell line CbnA-3. Transgenic rice cell line CbnA-3 expressing the cbnA gene and the control cell line harboring pCAMBIA were incubated in 3-chlorocatechol for 3 h. After incubation, supernatants of the solutions were analyzed by HPLC.
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FIG. 5. Time-dependent oxidation of 3-chlorocatechol to 2-chloromuconate by the transgenic cell line CbnA-3. The transgenic rice cell line CbnA-3 was incubated in 3-chlorocatechol as described in Fig. 4. Concentration of 3-chlorocatechol at each time point was analyzed by HPLC. Levels of 2-chloromuconate are given as peak areas.
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FIG. 6. Morphology of the transgenic rice plants. Each tissue of the transgenic rice plants is compared with a control plant harboring pCAMBIA1300. Leaves and roots were morphologically normal and the transgenic rice plants were fully fertile and grains were morphologically indistinguishable.
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FIG. 7. Time-dependent oxidation of 3-chlorcatechol to 2-chloromuconate by leaf tissues of transgenic rice plant. Leaf tissue of transgenic rice plant CbnA-3 was incubated in 3-chlorcatechol and concentration of 3-chlorocatechol and 2-chloromuconate were analyzed by HPLC as described in Materials and Methods.
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FIG. 8. Western blot analysis of extracts from transgenic rice plant line CbnA-3. Cell extract from tissues of each transgenic rice plant line CbnA-3 was analyzed by Western blot analysis with anti-CbnA antibody as described in MATERIALS AND METHODS. NH9, R. eutropha NH9; E. coli lane1, E. coli harboring pUC19-cbnA; lane 2, E. coli harboring pUC19; transgenic rice plant lane 1, control rice plant harboring pCAMBIA1300; Lane 2, transgenic rice plant line CbnA-3.
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FIG. 9. Southern blot analysis of the transgenic rice plant line CbnA-3. Genomic DNA from the transgenic rice plant line CbnA-3 was digested with HindIII and EcoRI, which cut out the promoter-cbnA-terminator cassette (see Fig. 1) and Southern blot was probed with a 765-bp fragment of the cbnA gene labeled with digoxigenin. Hybridized bands were detected with antidigoxigenin antibody. Lane 1, pCAMBIA-E35S-cbnA; lane 2, Genomic DNA from the transgenic rice plant line CbnA-3.
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3-Chlorocatechol was converted to 2-chloromuconate when incubated with the entire transgenic callus, suggesting that 3-chlorocatechol and 2-chloromuconate can pass through the cell wall and cell membrane because chlorocatechol dioxygenase produced by the rice cells localizes in the cytoplasmic space. Also, leaf tissues of the transgenic rice plants transformed 3-chlorcatechol to 2-chloromuconate. However, we could not show that roots of the transgenic rice plant transform 3-chlorcatechol to 2-chloromuconate after a 16-h incubation. This may due to the lower expression of the cbnA gene in root tissue and/or lower penetration efficiency of 3-chlorocatechol into root tissue. It may require longer incubation time to degrade 3-chlorocatechol by root. Rapid degradation of 3-chlorocatechol by root tissue would be achieved by high level expression of the cbnA gene in surface cells of roots using a root specific promoter to drive the cbnA gene.
We were able to breed transgenic rice plants that express the bacterial chlorocatechol dioxygenase gene. The transgenic rice plants will aid in the microbial degradation of chlorinated compounds in soil and surface water. In the future, phytoremediation using this type of transgenic plant producing several kinds of enzymes that degrade chlorinated compounds will be a cost-effective and sustainable technology for removing chlorinated pollutants from the environment.
We thank M. Ugaki of National Institute of Agrobiological Science for providing pE7131. We acknowledge the Center for Genetics and Molecular Biology, Mie University, for allowing growth of transgenic rice plants to be conducted in one of their greenhouses.
M. Shimizu and T. Kimura contributed equally to this work.
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