title: Analysis of hydroxycinnamic acid degradation in Agrobacterium fabrum reveals a coenzyme A-dependent, beta-oxidative deacetylation pathway.
abstract: The soil- and rhizosphere-inhabiting bacterium Agrobacterium fabrum (genomospecies G8 of the Agrobacterium tumefaciens species complex) is known to have species-specific genes involved in ferulic acid degradation. Here, we characterized, by genetic and analytical means, intermediates of degradation as feruloyl coenzyme A (feruloyl-CoA), 4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl-β-hydroxypropionyl-CoA, 4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl-β-ketopropionyl-CoA, vanillic acid, and protocatechuic acid. The genes atu1416, atu1417, and atu1420 have been experimentally shown to be necessary for the degradation of ferulic acid. Moreover, the genes atu1415 and atu1421 have been experimentally demonstrated to be essential for this degradation and are proposed to encode a phenylhydroxypropionyl-CoA dehydrogenase and a 4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl-β-ketopropionic acid (HMPKP)-CoA β-keto-thiolase, respectively. We thus demonstrated that the A. fabrum hydroxycinnamic degradation pathway is an original coenzyme A-dependent β-oxidative deacetylation that could also transform p-coumaric and caffeic acids. Finally, we showed that this pathway enables the metabolism of toxic compounds from plants and their use for growth, likely providing the species an ecological advantage in hydroxycinnamic-rich environments, such as plant roots or decaying plant materials.
authors.affiliation: Université de Lyon, Lyon, France.
authors.forename: Tony
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Campillo
authors.forename: Sébastien
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Renoud
authors.forename: Isabelle
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kerzaon
authors.forename: Ludovic
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Vial
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Baude
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Gaillard
authors.forename: Floriant
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bellvert
authors.forename: Cécile
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Chamignon
authors.forename: Gilles
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Comte
authors.forename: Xavier
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Nesme
authors.forename: Céline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lavire
authors.forename: Florence
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Hommais
mesh_terms: D060054:Agrobacterium / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D001711:Biotransformation; D003065:Coenzyme A / Q000378:metabolism*; D003373:Coumaric Acids / Q000378:metabolism*; D062385:Hydroxybenzoates / Q000378:metabolism; D053858:Metabolic Networks and Pathways / Q000235:genetics*; D010944:Plants / Q000382:microbiology
chemical_list: D003373:Coumaric Acids; D062385:Hydroxybenzoates; C009091:protocatechuic acid; D003065:Coenzyme A