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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, May 2004, p. 2830-2835, Vol. 70, No. 5
0099-2240/04/$08.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/AEM.70.5.2830-2835.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
Graduate School of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Yokohama 226-8501, Japan
Received 26 October 2003/ Accepted 27 January 2004
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As a result of TCE transformation, inactivation of methane monooxygenase and toluene 2-monooxygenase has been observed both in vitro (5, 8) and in vivo (9, 20). Although the exact nature of the destructive species remains unknown, highly reactive intermediates such as 2,2,2-trichloroacetaldehyde (chloral) and TCE-epoxide have been identified by in vitro experiments with methane monooxygenase (5) and toluene 2-monooxygenase (8). Furthermore, the degradation of TCE has also been reported to affect, both adversely and nonspecifically, more basic and general cellular functions such as respiratory and growth activities (3, 11, 15, 17, 20).
Owing to inactivation effects, the capacity of bacterial cells to degrade TCE is limited. Since Alvarez-Cohen and McCarty (2) first defined the term, the transformation capacity (Tc), which represents the maximum mass of cometabolized compounds that can be transformed per unit mass of resting cells, has been used as a scale to measure the TCE degradation ability of bacterial strains. The reported range of Tc values for pure wild-type strains varies from 0.05 to 2 µmol mg of cells1 (1, 6, 9, 12, 20), suggesting that there is diversity in the susceptibility of cells to damage by TCE degradation. For example, after oxidizing a quantity of TCE corresponding to the Tc, Methylosinus trichosporium OB3b cells did not recover even after 7 days of incubation (3). However, TCE degradation does not necessarily cause crucial damage that results in cell death in all bacterial strains. In some strains, the DNA repair mechanism (19) or de novo protein synthesis (11) can mediate the recovery of cellular activity after TCE degradation.
In this report, we show that the cessation of TCE degradation in Pseudomonas putida F1 is not the result of cytotoxic TCE degradation products. Almost no loss of toluene oxidation activity in the strain F1 was observed even though TCE degradation ceased, and TCE degradation activity could be restored simply by adding aromatic substrates to cultures. This restoration phenomenon can greatly improve the capacity of P. putida F1 to degrade TCE.
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For the preparation of toluene dioxygenase (TDO)-induced cell suspensions, 0.6 ml of the seed culture was inoculated into 60 ml of BS medium in a 300-ml flask with a side arm. Toluene vapor was supplied from a piece of cotton wool in the side arm of the flask that had soaked up 50 µl of toluene. Noninduced cell suspensions were prepared in the same manner, except that the carbon source was replaced by arginine (0.2%, wt/vol). After overnight incubation at 100 rpm and 28°C, the TDO-induced culture was supplied with another 50 µl of toluene and incubated for another 3 h to ensure adequate induction of the enzyme.
Cells were harvested by centrifugation (4,000 x g) at 28°C for 8 min and washed with nitrogen-free BS (BS-N) medium, prepared by replacing the (NH4)2SO4 in BS medium with an equimolar amount of K2SO4. Finally, the washed cells were resuspended in BS-N medium at a final concentration of 20 mg of dry cells ml1.
Degradation experiments.
To avoid cell growth during a degradation assay, we prepared resting cells by suspending the cells in BS-N medium. Assays for the degradation of TCE and aromatic chemicals by TDO-induced and noninduced P. putida were conducted in 123-ml vials containing 19.5 ml of BS-N medium and sealed with Teflon-lined butyl rubber septa. When necessary, chloramphenicol was added to the vials at a final concentration of 0.17 mg ml1 to inhibit de novo protein synthesis. This concentration of chloramphenicol was experimentally confirmed to inhibit cellular growth effectively. Prior to cell inoculation, aromatic chemicals or an aqueous solution saturated with TCE was added to the vials. The vials were then incubated at 28°C with shaking at 100 rpm for at least 1 h to attain equilibration of the volatile chemicals between the gas and liquid phases. Degradation reactions were initiated by using a microsyringe to inject an aliquot of concentrated P. putida F1 grown on toluene or arginine into the vials. The optical density at 660 nm of the reaction mixture containing the cells was adjusted to 1.5 for TCE degradation, 0.5 for toluene degradation, or 0.1 for degradation of a mixture of toluene, benzene, and cumene. Periodically, 50 µl of the headspace gas was analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) as described below. The abiotic loss of substrates was confirmed to be less than 5% of the initial values by monitoring control vials incubated in the absence of bacterial cells.
Analytical methods.
TCE was analyzed by a GC system equipped with an electron capture detector and a DB-624 capillary column (30 m x 0.32 mm inside diameter; Agilent Technologies). Other hydrocarbons were analyzed by a GC system equipped with a flame ionization detector and a ULBON HR-1 capillary column (50 m x 0.25 mm inside diameter; Shinwa Chemical Industries, Kyoto, Japan). The aqueous concentrations of TCE and toluene in BS-N medium at 28°C were calculated using dimensionless Henry's constants of 0.447 and 0.315, respectively, which were experimentally determined.
Assays for the activity of TDO, uptake of O2 in whole cells, and toluene degradation in the presence of catechols.
To investigate the effect of the addition of catechols, indigo formation, the uptake of O2, and toluene degradation were measured in whole cells in the presence of 3-methylcatechol or catechol. As an indicator of the activity of TDO in whole cells, the formation of indigo from indole was determined (18). Toluene-grown cells were harvested by centrifugation (8 min at 4,000 x g at 28°C), washed, and resuspended in phosphate buffer solution (pH = 7.0). The enzyme reaction was initiated by the addition of indole. Fifteen microliters of 100 mM indole in N,N-dimethylformamide was added to 3 ml of the cell suspension, and the formation of indigo was monitored spectrophotometrically at 600 nm over the reaction time against a cell suspension without indole. The concentration of indigo was calculated by using a molar extinction coefficient at 600 nm of 3,530 cm1 M1, which was experimentally determined. The initial rate of indigo formation was determined by plotting the increase in indigo concentration as a function of time.
As an indicator of basic cellular activity independent of toluene metabolism, arginine-dependent O2 uptake rates were analyzed with a Clark-type O2 electrode (HACH Company) mounted in an Erlenmeyer flask (50 ml). Arginine-grown cells were harvested by centrifugation (8 min at 4,000 x g at 28°C), washed, and resuspended in BS-N medium. The reaction flask was filled with BS-N medium, and cells were added with arginine (to a final concentration of 10 mM) to determine the arginine-stimulated O2 uptake rate. From this rate, a basal respiratory rate, which was measured in the absence of arginine with cells pregrown on arginine, was subtracted to obtain the arginine-dependent O2 uptake rate.
Toluene degradation activity was measured as described above. To analyze the effect of the addition of 3-methylcatechol or catechol on each of these activities, the catechols were added to the reaction solution, except in control reactions.
Viable cell count.
Viable cells were assessed by 5-cyano-2,3-ditolyl tetrazolium chloride (CTC), which specifically stains respiring cells (13). To a sterile tube containing 900 µl of cell suspension, 100 µl of 50 mM CTC staining solution and 10 µl of 100 g liter1 arginine solution were added and then mixed. The tube was incubated with shaking in the dark at 28°C for 2 h. The stained cells were then appropriately diluted with BS-N medium and trapped on a black polycarbonate membrane filter with 0.22-µm pores. The membrane filter was air dried and transferred to a slide glass, and then one drop of immersion oil was put onto the preparation before it was covered with a coverslip. Viable cells stained with bright intracellular red formazan (CTC stain) were enumerated using a fluorescence microscope equipped with a polarizing filter (U-MWBV; band-pass, 400 to 440 nm; Olympus Optical, Tokyo, Japan).
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FIG. 1. Time course of TCE (a) and toluene (b) degradation by P. putida F1. Cells (optical density of 1.5 at 660 nm) were incubated at 28°C. TCE degradation with no toluene addition is represented by diamonds. At 1.7 h, toluene was added (indicated by an arrow) to vials without (squares) and with (triangles) chloramphenicol (0.17 mg ml1). Circles represent the abiotic control. All data displayed are the means (symbols) ± standard deviations (error bars) obtained from three independent experiments, although some error bars are hidden under key symbols.
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FIG. 2. Time course of toluene degradation by TDO-induced and noninduced resting cells. TDO-induced cells pregrown on toluene (diamonds) and noninduced cells pregrown on arginine (squares) were incubated (optical density of 0.5 at 660 nm) in nitrogen-free medium at 28°C with shaking at 100 rpm. Circles represent the abiotic control. All data displayed are the means (symbols) ± standard deviations (error bars) obtained from three independent experiments, although some error bars are hidden under key symbols.
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FIG. 3. Restorability of TCE degradation by various chemicals. The amount of TCE degraded after the addition of 10 µmol of each chemical is indicated. All data displayed are the means (symbols) ± standard deviations (error bars) obtained from three independent experiments. TMB, 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene.
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FIG. 4. Time course of TCE (a) and toluene, benzene, and cumene (b) degradation by P. putida F1. Cells (optical density of 1.5 at 660 nm) were incubated at 28°C. TCE degradation with no addition of aromatics is represented by circles. At 1.8 h (arrow), 10 µmol of toluene (squares), benzene (triangles), or cumene (diamonds) was added to vials. All data displayed are the means (symbols) ± standard deviations (error bars) obtained from three independent experiments, although many error bars are hidden under key symbols.
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FIG. 5. Time course of the degradation of toluene (squares), benzene (diamonds), and cumene (triangles) by P. putida F1 in a mixture of the three chemicals. Cells (optical density of 0.1 at 660 nm) were incubated at 28°C. All data displayed are the means (symbols) ± standard deviations (error bars) obtained from three independent experiments, although some error bars are hidden under key symbols.
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3-Methylcatechol and catechol, which are the respective intermediates of the toluene and benzene metabolic pathways, exhibited partial restoration even though they are not substrates of TDO. TCE degradation restarted immediately after the addition of these two catechols (data not shown). As reported previously (10), the catechols were cytotoxic: arginine-dependent O2 uptake was depressed by these chemicals, independently of toluene metabolism (Table 1). In addition, toluene degradation was more severely inhibited, suggesting that such toxic intermediates negatively regulate the activity of TDO at the protein level. A direct interaction between these chemicals and TDO was also indicated by indigo formation, which has been used as an indicator of TDO activity (18): the addition of low concentrations (0.1 and 1 mM) of 3-methylcatechol and catechol largely enhanced indigo formation, although at 10 mM these chemicals greatly inhibited it. It is possible that conformational changes in TDO caused by 3-methylcatechol and catechol may destabilize toluene in the active site but may enhance accessibility of the larger indole molecules to the active site. Such a conformational change might cause the inhibitory TCE or its degradation products to fall away from some of the enzyme molecules.
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TABLE 1. Effect of 3-methylcatechol and catechol on rates of toluene degradation, arginine-dependent oxygen uptake, and indigo formation
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FIG. 6. Effect of repeated additions of toluene on bacterial activity. (a) Time course of TCE degradation. (b) Time course of toluene degradation. TCE and toluene were added at the time points indicated by the dashed and solid arrows, respectively. (c) Cell viability was assessed by counting the number of respiring cells stained with CTC. All data displayed are the means (symbols) ± standard deviations (error bars) obtained from three independent experiments, although some error bars are hidden under key symbols.
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TABLE 2. Maximum rate of TCE degradation observed in each restoration cycle
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In summary, our results demonstrate a new way of restoring TCE degradation that has not been previously reported, either for P. putida F1 possessing TDO or for other bacteria possessing other kinds of oxygenase. It is uncertain whether our findings in P. putida F1 are common phenomena among TCE cometabolizing bacteria. The real cause of the cessation of TCE degradation may depend on the bacterial strain, which ultimately governs the potential for restoration.
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