title: Biochemical and genetic studies of bacteria metabolizing lignin-related compounds.
abstract: The ability of bacterial strains to metabolize lignin model compounds was studied. Strains examined were non-filamentous bacterial isolates obtained from decaying wood and the actinomycete Streptomyces viridosporus T7A. Model compounds included dimers containing either the beta-1 (1,2-diarylethane) or the beta-O-4 (arylglycerol-beta-aryl ether) type of linkage. Pseudomonas fluorescens biovar I A1 proliferated on anisoin (4,4'-dimethoxybenzoin) accumulating anisic acid temporarily. Cleavage at the beta-1 bond was also observed with crude extracts prepared from the same strain. In turn, cleavage of the beta-O-4 linkage of veratrylglycerol-beta-guaiacyl ether was detected in cultures of Pseudomonas acidovorans D3. In this case, main degradation intermediates were beta-hydroxypropioveratrone, acetoveratrone and guaiacol. S. viridosporus T7A reduced the carbonyl group of some beta-1 dimers and did not modify the beta-O-4 model compounds tested. Attempts to ascribe a catabolic character to large molecular weight extrachromosomal DNA present in some strains were unsuccessful. Gene banks of P. fluorescens biovar I A1 and P. acidovorans D3 were prepared utilizing the broad host range cosmid pLAFR1 as vector.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Bioquimica, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Vicuña
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Gonzalez
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ruttimann
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sapag
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Seelenfreund
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000378:metabolism*; D004587:Electrophoresis, Agar Gel; D015723:Gene Library; D008031:Lignin / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D010957:Plasmids / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D008031:Lignin