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Journal of Bacteriology, September 2007, p. 6195-6204, Vol. 189, No. 17
0021-9193/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JB.00179-07
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

A Large Gene Cluster in Burkholderia xenovorans Encoding Abietane Diterpenoid Catabolism{triangledown} ,{dagger}

Daryl J. Smith,1 Joonhong Park,2 James M. Tiedje,3 and William W. Mohn1*

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Life Sciences Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada,1 School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea,2 Center for Microbial Ecology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan3

Received 2 February 2007/ Accepted 14 June 2007

Abietane diterpenoids are defense compounds synthesized by trees that are abundant in natural environments and occur as significant pollutants from pulp and paper production. Burkholderia xenovorans LB400 has diverse catabolic capabilities and represents an important group of heterotrophic bacteria in soil environments. The genome sequence of LB400 revealed homologs of the dit genes of Pseudomonas abietaniphila BKME-9, which encode abietane diterpenoid degradation. LB400 grew on abietic acid (AbA), dehydroabietic acid (DhA), palustric acid (PaA), and 7-oxo-DhA. A Xeotron microarray set, with probes for 8450 of the estimated 9000 LB400 genes, was used to compare the transcriptomes of LB400 growing on DhA versus on succinate. On DhA, 97 genes were upregulated, 43 of which were within an 80-kb cluster located on the 1.47-Mbp megaplasmid of LB400. Upregulated genes in this cluster encode a permease, a ring-hydroxylating dioxygenase system (DitA), a ring-cleavage dioxygenase (DitC), a P450 monooxygenase (DitQ), and enzymes catalyzing beta-oxidation-type reactions. Disruption of the ditA1 gene, encoding the alpha-subunit of DitA, abolished growth on these abietanes. Analyses of the metabolism of abietanes by cell suspensions of wild-type LB400 and the ditA1 mutant indicate a convergent pathway, with 7-oxo-DhA as a common intermediate for ring hydroxylation by DitA. Also, 7-oxo-PaA was identified as a metabolite of both AbA and PaA. Sequence analysis indicates that genes encoding this pathway have been horizontally transferred among Betaproteobacteria and Gammaproteobacteria.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Life Sciences Institute, The University of British Columbia, 2350 Health Sciences Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z3, Canada. Phone: (604) 822-4285. Fax: (604) 822-6041. E-mail: wmohn{at}interchange.ubc.ca

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 22 June 2007.

{dagger} Supplemental material for this article may be found at http://jb.asm.org/.

Journal of Bacteriology, September 2007, p. 6195-6204, Vol. 189, No. 17
0021-9193/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JB.00179-07
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

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