[The role of mineral phosphorus compounds in naphthalene biodegradation by Pseudomonas putida].

The effect of phosphate concentration in the culture medium on the growth and naphthalene degradation by Pseudomonas putida BS 3701 was studied. The limiting concentration of phosphate was 0.4 mM and 0.1 mM under cultivation in media with naphthalene and glucose, respectively The phosphate deficiency correlated with a decrease in the activities of naphthalene dioxygenase and salicylate hydroxylase and with salicylate accumulation in the culture medium. We suggest that this fact indicates the impaired regulation of gene expression of "upper" and "lower" pathways of naphthalene oxidation. Under naphthalene degradation, the cells accumulated three times more inorganic polyphosphates as compared with the consumption of glucose. The involvement of polyphosphates in the regulation of naphthalene metabolism has been considered.

[Biosynthesis of isocitric acid by the yeast yarrowia lipolytica and its regulation].

We studied the biosynthesis of isocitric acid from rapeseed (canola) oil by the yeast Yarrowia lipolytica and its regulation. We determined a fundamental possibility for directed biosynthesis of isocitric acid by Y lipolytica yeast, with only minimal amounts of citric acid byproduct, when grown on a medium containing canola oil. Wild type strains of Y lipolytica were mutagenized by UV irradiation and treatment with N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (NG). Subsequent selection on media with acetate and isocitrate resulted in isolation of a UV/NG Y lipolytica UV/NG mutant that synthesized isocitrate and citrate at a ratio of 2.7:1. In the parent strain, this ratio is 1:1. Inhibition of isocitrate lyase, a key enzyme in the metabolism of isocitric acid, by the addition of itaconic acid resulted in increased synthesis of isocitrate with a ratio of isocitrate to citrate reaching 6:1. Culturing of the Y lipolytica UV/NG mutant in a pilot industrial fermenter in the presence of itaconic acid resulted in the production of 88.7 g/L of isocitric acid with a yield of 90%.

[scpA the new salicylate hydroxylase gene localized on salicylate/caprolactam degradation plasmids].

Both caprolactam and salicylate biodegradation by Pseudomonas salicylate/caprolactam degraders is controlled by large conjugative plasmids (SAL/CAP). Some of these plasmids determined to be the members of IncP-7 group. The new salicylate 1-hydroxylase gene (scpA) on SAL/CAP-plasmids has been detected and partially sequenced. Gene scpA was equally related to closest homologs nahG (NAH7), salA (P. reinekei MT1) and nahU (pND6-1), but identity of scpA to these genes did not exceed 72-74%. Synthesis of salicylate 1-hydroxylase ScpA was not induced by salicylate. This enzyme had wide substrate specificity and exhibited highest specific activity with 4-methylsalicylate and nonsubstituted salicylate. Besides pseudomonad's salicylate degradative conjugative plasmids without "classical" nah2-operon and harboring only salicylate 1-hydroxylase gene nahU have been firstly described.

[Obtaining of the mutant Yarrowia lipolytica strains producing citric acid from glucose].

The possibility of obtaining mutant yeasts Yarrowia lipolytica VKM Y-2373 with increased ability to synthesize citric acid from glucose by using UV irradiation and N-methyl-NT-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine was studied. Of 1500 colonies of the Y. lipolytica treated with either UV or N-methyl-NT-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine, three mutants were selected that displayed higher (by 23%) biosynthetic ability as compared with the initial strain. Additionally, three mutants were selected from 1000 colonies of the Y. lipolytica exposed to a combined action of UV and N-methyl-NT-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine; their biosynthetic activity exceeded that of the initial strain by 43.9%. The selective media with citrate and acetate were developed for a rapid selection of mutants as well as the express methods for the detection of active citric acid producers on the solid media with chalk and bromocresol containing a limiting concentration of amine nitrogen and an excess of glucose.

[Horizontal transfer of catabolic plasmids in the process of naphthalene biodegradation in model soil systems].

The process of naphthalene degradation by indigenous, introduced, and transconjugant strains was studied in laboratory soil microcosms. Conjugation transfer of catabolic plasmids was demonstrated in naphthalene-contaminated soil. Both indigenous microorganisms and an introduced laboratory strain BS394 (pNF142::TnMod-OTc) served as donors of these plasmids. The indigenous bacterial degraders of naphthalene isolated from soil were identified as Pseudomonas putida and Pseudomonas fluorescens. The frequency of plasmid transfer in soil was 10(-5)-10(-4) per donor cell. The activity of the key enzymes of naphthalene biodegradation in indigenous and transconjugant strains was studied. Transconjugant strains harboring indigenous catabolic plasmids possessed high salicylate hydroxylase and low catechol-2,3-dioxygenase activities, in contrast to indigenous degraders, which had a high level of catechol-2,3-dioxygenase activity and a low level of salicylate hydroxylase. Naphthalene degradation in batch culture in liquid mineral medium was shown to accelerate due to cooperation of the indigenous naphthalene degrader P. fluorescens AP1 and the transconjugant strain P. putida KT2442 harboring the indigenous catabolic plasmid pAP35. The role of conjugative transfer of naphthalene biodegradation plasmids in acceleration of naphthalene degradation was demonstrated in laboratory soil microcosms.

[Phenanthrene degradation by bacteria of the genera Pseudomonas and Burkholderia in model soil systems].

Degradation of phenanthrene by strains Pseudomonas putida BS3701 (pBS1141, pBS1142), Pseudomonas putida BS3745 (pBS216), and Burkholderia sp. BS3702 (pBS1143) was studied in model soil systems. The differences in accumulation and uptake rate of phenanthrene intermediates between the strains under study have been shown, Accumulation of 1-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid in soil in the course of phenanthrene degradation by strain BS3702 (pBS143) in a model system has been revealed. The efficiency of phenanthrene biodegradation was assessed using the mathematical model proposed previously for assessment of naphthalene degradation efficiency. The efficiency of degradation of both phenanthrene and the intermediate products of its degradation in phenanthrene-contaminated soil is expected to increase with the joint use of strains P. putida BS3701 (pBS1141, pBS1142) and Burkholderia sp. BS3702 (pBS1143).

[Effect of catabolic plasmids on physiological parameters and efficiency of oil destruction by bacteria of the genus Pseudomonas].

The ability of microbial degraders of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons to grow at 24 degrees C in liquid mineral medium supplemented with oil as the sole source of carbon and energy was studied. Growth characteristics (CFU) and the level of oil destruction by plasmid-bearing and plasmid-free strains were determined after seven days of cultivation. The presence of catabolic plasmids in the degrader strains, including rhizosphere pseudomonads, was shown to increase cell growth and enhance the level of oil degradation. Strain Pseudomonas chlororaphis BS 1391 bearing plasmid pBS216 was found to be the most effective oil degrader.

[Search for active psychrotrophic microbial oil degraders and their characterization].

The ability of 96 microbial strains degrading oil and 32 strains degrading polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) to consume diesel fuel and oil at 4-6 degrees C and 24 degrees C and at elevated NaCl concentrations was studied. The temperature range, salt tolerance, ability to produce bioemulsifiers, range of substrates, and antibiotic resistance were determined. The eleven most active oil-degrading and PAH-degrading strains were genotyped by a polymerase chain reaction with BoxA1R primers and a restriction analysis of ribosomal DNA amplicons. For six strains, the degree of oil degradation at 4-6 degrees C was higher than at 24 degrees C. For the most active strains, the degree of oil degradation in liquid mineral medium ranged from 15 to 26% at 24 degrees C and from 28 to 47% at 4-6 degrees C. An artificial association of six of the strains degraded the oil by 46% at 24 degrees C.

[The construction and monitoring of genetically marked, plasmid-containing, naphthalene-degrading strains in soil].

A genetically marked, plasmid-containing, naphthalene-degrading strain, Pseudomonas putida KT2442(pNF142::TnMod-OTc), has been constructed. The presence of the gfp gene (which codes for green fluorescent protein) and the kanamycin and rifampicin resistance genes in the chromosome of this strain allows the strain's fate in model soil systems to be monitored, whereas a minitransposon, built in naphthalene biodegradation plasmid pNF142, contains the tetracycline resistance gene and makes it possible to follow the horizontal transfer of this plasmid between various bacteria. Plasmid pNF142::TnMod-OTc is stable in strain P. putida KT2442 under nonselective conditions. The maximal specific growth rate of this strain on naphthalene was found to be higher than that of the natural host of plasmid pNF142. When introduced into a model soil system, the genetically marked strain is stable and competitive for 40 days. The transfer of marked plasmid pNF142::TnMod-OTc to natural soil bacteria, predominantly fluorescent pseudomonads, has been detected.

[Effect of naphthalene biodegradation plasmids on physiological characteristics of rhizospheric bacteria of the genus Pseudomonas].

Specific growth rate, duration of the lag phase, stability of plasmids, and activities of the key enzymes involved in naphthalene biodegradation were studied in rhizospheric pseudomonades carrying structurally similar plasmids pOV17 and pBS216. It was demonstrated that these plasmids determined various levels of catechol 2,3-dioxygenase activities. The structural rearrangements in the plasmid pBS216 could "switch off" the genes of catechol oxidation meta-pathway. It was shown that certain combinations of biodegradation plasmids and bacterial hosts, such as Pseudomonas chlororaphis PCL1391(pBS216), P. chlororaphis PCL1391(pOV17), and P. putida 53a(pOV17), were considerably more efficient than natural variants in their growth characteristics and stability of the biodegradation activity, having a potential for bioremediation of soils polluted with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).

Mycobacterium sp. mutant strain producing 9alpha-hydroxyandrostenedione from sitosterol.

Mycobacterium sp. VKM Ac-1815D and its derivatives with altered resistance to antibacterial agents were able to produce androst-4-ene-3,17-dione (AD) as a major product from sitosterol. In this study, those strains were subjected to subsequent mutagenization by chemical agents and UV irradiation in combination with sitosterol selection pressure. The mutant Mycobacterium sp. 2-4 M was selected, being capable of producing 9alpha-hydroxyandrost-4-ene-3,17-dione (9-OH-AD) as a major product from sitosterol, with a 50% molar yield. Along with 9-OH-AD, both AD and 9alpha-hydroxylated metabolites with a partially degraded side-chain were formed from sitosterol by the mutant strain. The strain was unable to degrade 9-OH-AD, but degraded androsta-1,4-diene-3,17-dione (ADD), thus indicating a deficiency in steroid 1(2)-dehydrogenase and the presence of 9alpha-hydroxylase activity.

[Bacteria--degraders of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, isolated from soil and bottom sediments in salt-mining areas]. / Bakterii--destruktory politsiklicheskikh aromaticheskikh uglevodorodov, vydelennye iz pochv i donnykh otlozhenii raiona solerazrabotok.

Fifteen bacterial strains capable of utilizing naphthalene, phenanthrene, and biphenyl as the sole sources of carbon and energy were isolated from soils and bottom sediments contaminated with waste products generated by chemical and salt producing plants. Based on cultural, morphological, and chemotaxonomic characteristics, ten of these strains were identified as belonging to the genera Rhodococcus, Arthrobacter, Bacillus, and Pseudomonas. All ten strains were found to be halotolerant bacteria capable of growing in nutrient-rich media at NaCl concentrations of 1-1.5 M. With naphthalene as the sole source of carbon and energy, the strains could grow in a mineral medium with 1 M NaCl. Apart from being able to grow on naphthalene, six of the ten strains were able to grow on phenanthrene; three strains, on biphenyl; three strains, on octane; and one strain, on phenol. All of the strains were plasmid-bearing. The plasmids of the Pseudomonas sp. strains SN11, SN101, and G51 are conjugative, contain genes responsible for the degradation of naphthalene and salicylate, and are characterized by the same restriction fragment maps. The transconjugants that gained the plasmid from strain SN11 acquired the ability to grow at elevated NaCl concentrations. Microbial associations isolated from the same samples were able to grow at a NaCl concentration of 2.5 M.