biodegradation
Editor's Pick Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologySubcellular Architecture of the xyl Gene Expression Flow of the TOL Catabolic Plasmid of Pseudomonas putida mt-2The transfer of information between DNA, RNA, and proteins in a bacterium is often compared to the decoding of a piece of software in a computer. However, the tridimensional layout and the relational logic of the cognate biological hardware, i.e., the nucleoid, the RNA polymerase, and the ribosomes, are habitually taken for granted.
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyRegulatory Mechanism of Nicotine Degradation in Pseudomonas putidaWe report the entire process underlying the NicR2 regulatory mechanism from association between free NicR2 and two promoters to dissociation of the NicR2-promoter complex. NicR2 can bind to another promoter, Pspm, which controls expression of nicotine-degrading genes that are not controlled by the Phsp promoter. We identified specific nucleotides of the Pspm promoter responsible for NicR2 binding. HSP was...
Commentary | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyThe Effect of Cellular Redox Status on the Evolvability of New Catabolic PathwaysOxidation of aromatic compounds can be mutagenic due to the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in bacterial cells and thereby facilitate evolution of corresponding catabolic pathways. To examine the effect of the background biochemical network on the evolvability of environmental bacteria hosting a new catabolic pathway, Akkaya and colleagues (mBio 9:e01512-18, 2018, https://doi...
- Editor's Pick Research ArticleThe Metabolic Redox Regime of Pseudomonas putida Tunes Its Evolvability toward Novel Xenobiotic Substrates
Some environmental bacteria evolve with new capacities for the aerobic biodegradation of chemical pollutants by adapting preexisting redox reactions to novel compounds. The process typically starts by cooption of enzymes from an available route to act on the chemical structure of the substrate-to-be. The critical bottleneck is generally the first biochemical step, and most of the selective pressure operates on reshaping the initial...