Construction of a hybrid strain which is capable of mineralizing components of a benzene, toluene, and p-xylene mixture simultaneously was attempted by redesigning the metabolic pathway of Pseudomonas putida. Genetic and biochemical analyses of the tod and the tol pathways revealed that dihydrodiols formed from benzene, toluene, and p-xylene by toluene dioxygenase in the tod pathway could be ch...

Synthesis and spectroscopic analysis of some alkylated DNA purine bases are described. HPLC separation methods are developed for the determination of DNA alkylation rates in mammalian embryonic tissues. Following treatment of pregnant mice with the ethylating agent ethylmethanesulfonate (EMS), an appreciable amount of alkylation (ethylation and methylation) was found in the nuclear DNA of the e...

Inhalation of toluene-based products is popular among young adults. It has been shown to have a variety of adverse effects on several organs and systems. Although the heart seems to be a sensitive target organ to toluene, cardiotoxicity has often been ignored, especially in cases of acute toluene abuse, with relatively low concentrations. Thereby, routine cardiac examination and echocardiograph...

Reaction with thiol converts the antitumor natural product leinamycin to an episulfonium ion that alkylates the N(7)-position of guanine residues in double-stranded DNA. The sequence specificity for DNA alkylation by this structurally novel compound has not previously been examined. It is reported here that leinamycin shows significant (>10-fold) preferences for alkylation at the 5'-G in 5'-GG ...

Toluene is widely used as an industrial solvent and is usually produced in the processes of making gasoline. Inhaled toluene may cause genotoxicity and other adverse health effects. This study aimed to ascertain the relation between blood toluene exposure and genotoxicity, as measured by sister chromatid exchange (SCE), by comparing gasoline station workers to controls. Mean blood toluene and S...

The microdialysis technique was applied to detect the changes in the activity of acetylcholine (ACh) neurons in the rat brain. The effects of intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of toluene on the amount of ACh release from the nerve terminals of the brain cholinergic neurons were investigated in freely moving rats. In the striatum, injection of toluene decreased the extracellular concentration of ...

Toluene abuse during pregnancy results in newborns with fetal solvent syndrome. N-Methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor has been identified as a target site for toluene. Since the normal function of NMDA receptor is critical for synaptogenesis, the long-term effects of toluene exposure during synaptogenesis on the neurobehavioral function and the expression of NMDA receptor subunits (NR1, NR2A, an...

A pure yeast strain Candida tropicalis was immobilized on the matrix of powdered activated carbon, sodium alginate, and polyethylene glycol (PSP beads). The immobilized beads were used as fluidized material in a bioreactor to remove toluene from gaseous stream. Applied toluene loadings were 15.4 and 29.8 g/m(3) h in Step 1 and Step 2, respectively, and toluene removal was found above 95% during...

A trickling ®lter packed with PVC 16 mm Raschig rings was used to study the degradation of toluene in a polluted air stream, by means of a bacterial bio®lm of Pseudomonas putida ATCC 17484. A polluted stream was simulated by blending air with a controlled amount of toluene. The mixing was accomplished in a special mixing chamber designed for that purpose. Induction of the enzymes of the toluene...

Pseudomonas putida DOT-T1E is tolerant to toluene and other toxic hydrocarbons through extrusion of the toxic compounds from the cell by means of three efflux pumps, TtgABC, TtgDEF, and TtgGHI. To identify other cellular factors that allow the growth of P. putida DOT-T1E in the presence of high concentrations of toluene, we performed two-dimensional gel analyses of proteins extracted from cultu...