title: Isolation and characterization of a Rhodococcus strain able to degrade 2-fluorophenol.
abstract: A pure bacterial culture able to utilize 2-fluorophenol (2-FP) as sole carbon and energy source was isolated by selective enrichment from sediments collected from a contaminated site in Northern Portugal. 16S rRNA gene analysis showed that the organism (strain FP1) belongs to the genus Rhodococcus. When grown aerobically on 2-FP, growth kinetics of strain FP1 followed the Luong model. An inhibitory effect of increasing 2-FP concentrations was observed with no growth occurring at 2-FP levels higher than ca. 4 mM. Rhodococcus strain FP1 was able to degrade a range of other organofluorine compounds, including 2-fluorobenzoate, 3-fluorobenzoate, 4-fluorobenzoate, 3-fluorophenol, 4-fluorophenol, 3-fluorocatechol, and 4-fluorocatechol, as well as chlorinated compounds such as 2-chlorophenol and 4-chlorophenol. Experiments with cell-free extracts and partially purified enzymes indicated that the first step of 2-fluorophenol metabolism was conversion to 3-fluorocatechol, suggesting an unusual pathway for fluoroaromatic metabolism. To our knowledge, this is the first time that utilization of 2-FP as a growth substrate by a pure bacterial culture is reported.
authors.affiliation: CBQF/Escola Superior de Biotecnologia, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Rua Dr. António Bernardino de Almeida, Oporto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Anouk F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Duque
authors.forename: Syed A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Hasan
authors.forename: Vânia S
authors.initials: VS
authors.lastname: Bessa
authors.forename: Maria F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Carvalho
authors.forename: Ghufrana
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Samin
authors.forename: Dick B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Janssen
authors.forename: Paula M L
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Castro
mesh_terms: D001711:Biotransformation; D002244:Carbon / Q000378:metabolism; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D004734:Energy Metabolism; D004783:Environmental Microbiology; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000378:metabolism; D053858:Metabolic Networks and Pathways; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010636:Phenols / Q000378:metabolism*; D010802:Phylogeny; D011174:Portugal; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D012240:Rhodococcus / Q000254:growth & development / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000378:metabolism*; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal; D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D010636:Phenols; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; D002244:Carbon; C487839:2-fluorophenol