Some soil bacteria are able to metabolize styrene via initial side-chain oxygenation. This catabolic route is of potential biotechnological relevance due to the occurrence of phenylacetic acid as a central metabolite. The styrene-degrading strains Rhodococcus opacus 1CP, Pseudomonas fluorescens ST, and the novel isolates Sphingopyxis sp. Kp5.2 and Gordonia sp. CWB2 were investigated with respec...

Gene transfer systems for Gordonia polyisoprenivorans strains VH2 and Y2K based on electroporation and conjugation, respectively, were established. Several parameters were optimized, resulting in transformation efficiencies of >4 x 10(5) CFU/ micro g of plasmid DNA. In contrast to most previously described electroporation protocols, the highest efficiencies were obtained by applying a heat shoc...

A novel application of whole cells of Nocardia corallina B-276 for the deracemisation of ibuprofen is reported. This microorganism successfully hydrolysed ibuprofen nitrile to ibuprofen amide, and ibuprofen amide to ibuprofen, using a suspension of cells in a potassium phosphate buffer solution (0.1 M, pH = 7.0). These results can be explained by the presence of NHase and amidase enzymes, but t...

Five bacterial strains were compared for halogenated compounds conversion in aqueous media. Depending on the strain, the optimal temperature for dehalogenase activity of resting cells varied from 30 to 45 °C, while optimal pH raised from 8.4 to 9.0. The most effective dehalogenase activity for 1-chlorobutane conversion was detected with Rhodococcus erythropolis NCIMB13064 and Escherichia coli B...

Biotransformation using alkane-oxidizing bacteria or their alkane hydroxylase (AH) systems have been little studied at the molecular level. We have cloned and sequenced genes from Gordonia sp. TF6 encoding an AH system, alkB2 (alkane 1-monooxygenase), rubA3 (rubredoxin), rubA4 (rubredoxin), and rubB (rubredoxin reductase). When expressed in Escherichia coli, these genes allowed the construction...

Cell-free extracts of Rhodococcus corallinus NRRL B-15444R dechlorinated deethylsimazine (2-chloro-4-ethylamino-l,3,5-triazine-6-amine) to N-ethylammeline (2-amino-4-ethylamino-l,3,5-triazine-6(SH)-one) anaerobically, and, thus, presumably hydrolytically. Two enzyme fractions (M, about 450000 and 180000) that dechlorinated deethylsimazine were detected after gel permeation chromatography of cel...