title: Combined action of a bacterial monooxygenase and a fungal laccase for the biodegradation of mono- and poly-aromatic hydrocarbons.
abstract: The combined action of a wide substrate range toluene o-xylene monooxygenase from Pseudomonas sp. OX1, able to convert many aromatic compounds into mono- and di-hydroxylated derivatives, and fungal laccases from Pleurotus ostreatus which oxidize these hydroxylated products yielding polymers with reduced toxicity is described. This strategy permits to overcome many of the substrate specificity problems and dead end toxic products formation generally encountered in complex bacterial biodegradation pathways. Toluene and naphthalene degradations were tested as representative of mono- and poly-aromatic pollutants. The combined biological action was optimized in micellar and microemulsion systems able to increase the bioavailability of the hydrophobic aromatic pollutants. This approach allows efficient hydroxylations of hydrophobic substrates thus favoring the further action of fungal oxidases.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio di Chimica Bioinorganica, Dipartimento di Chimica, Università di Firenze, Via Della Lastruccia 3, 50019 Firenze, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonella
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gullotto
authors.forename: Sergio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Branciamore
authors.forename: Ilaria
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Duchi
authors.forename: Maria Francisca Pareja
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Caño
authors.forename: Demetrio
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Randazzo
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tilli
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Giardina
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sannia
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Scozzafava
authors.forename: Fabrizio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Briganti
mesh_terms: D001487:Basidiomycota / Q000201:enzymology*; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D002396:Catechols / Q000378:metabolism; D003408:Cresols / Q000378:metabolism; D006841:Hydrocarbons, Aromatic / Q000378:metabolism*; D042845:Laccase / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000378:metabolism*; D009281:Naphthalenes / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D009284:Naphthols / Q000378:metabolism; D010105:Oxygenases / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000378:metabolism*; D011549:Pseudomonas / Q000201:enzymology*; D014050:Toluene / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D002396:Catechols; D003408:Cresols; D006841:Hydrocarbons, Aromatic; D009281:Naphthalenes; D009284:Naphthols; C031721:naphthalene; D014050:Toluene; D042845:Laccase; D010105:Oxygenases; C114360:toluene 2-xylene monooxygenase