This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Reprints and Permissions Copyright Information Books from ASM Press MicrobeWorld Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Bossert, I D Articles by Young, L Y Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Bossert, I D Articles by Young, L Y

research-article

Anaerobic oxidation of p-cresol mediated by a partially purified methylhydroxylase from a denitrifying bacterium.

Department of Microbiology, New York University Medical Center, New York 10016.

ABSTRACT

Anoxic cell extracts of a denitrifying bacterial isolate (PC-07) were shown to oxidize p-cresol to p-hydroxybenzoate. Oxidation of the substrate was independent of molecular oxygen and required nitrate as the natural terminal electron acceptor. Two enzyme activities were implicated in the pathway utilized by PC-07. A p-cresol methylhydroxylase mediated the oxidation of p-cresol to p-hydroxybenzaldehyde, which was further oxidized to p-hydroxybenzoate by an NAD+-dependent dehydrogenase. The PC-07 methylhydroxylase was partially purified by anion-exchange chromatography. The protein appeared to be a multifunctional flavocytochrome, which first oxidized p-cresol to p-hydroxybenzyl alcohol, which was then oxidized to p-hydroxybenzaldehyde. The identity of the aldehyde was confirmed by mass spectroscopy. The PC-07 methylhydroxylase had a limited substrate range and required an alkyl-substituted phenolic ring with a hydroxyl group in the para position. From the available evidence, p-cresol, a naturally occurring phenol, exhibited the greatest affinity to the enzyme and therefore may be its natural substrate.

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Verhagen, F. J. M., Swarts, H. J., Wijnberg, J. B. P. A., Field, J. A. (1998). Biotransformation of the Major Fungal Metabolite 3,5-Dichloro- p-Anisyl Alcohol under Anaerobic Conditions and Its Role in Formation of Bis(3,5-Dichloro-4-Hydroxyphenyl)methane. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 64: 3225-3231 [Abstract] [Full Text]