Intermediate in the Formation of Catechol

3, 5-Cyclohexadiene1, 2-diol1-carboxylic acid (1, 2-dihydro1, 2-dihydroxybenzoic acid) is converted enzymatically to catechol in cell extracts from Acinetobacter, Alcaligenes, Azotobacter, and three Pseudomonas species. This enzymatic activity is present only in cultures which have been grown in the presence of benzoic acid, and which convert benzoic acid to catechol rather than to protocatechuic acid. The reaction is assayed by the concomitant formation of reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide from nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide. The conversion of ["4C]benzoic acid to [14C]dihydrodihydroxybenzoic acid is demonstrated in cell extracts. A scheme for the conversion of benzoic acid to catechol in bacteria is presented, involving the formation of dihydrodihydroxybenzoic acid from benzoic acid by a dioxygenase which is unstable in cell extracts, followed by the dehydrogenation and decarboxylation of dihydrodihydroxybenzoic acid to catechol by a previously undescribed enzyme. Experiments with anthranilic acid and phthalic acid suggest that dihydrodihydroxybenzoic acid is a metabolite unique to benzoic acid metabolism. Two new methods for assaying benzoic acid dioxygenase are suggested.