Fm. Menn et al., NAH PLASMID-MEDIATED CATABOLISM OF ANTHRACENE AND PHENANTHRENE TO NAPHTHOIC ACIDS, Applied and environmental microbiology, 59(6), 1993, pp. 1938-1942
Pseudomonas fluorescens 5R contains an NAH7-like plasmid (pKA1), and P
. fluorescens 5R mutant 5RL contains a bioluminescent reporter plasmid
(pUTK21) which was constructed by transposon mutagenesis. Polymerase
chain reaction mapping confirmed the localization of lux transposon Tn
4431 300 bp downstream from the start of the nahG gene. Two degradatio
n products, 2-hydroxy-3-naphthoic acid and 1-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid,
were recovered and identified from P. fluorescens 5RL as biochemical
metabolites from the biotransformation of anthracene and phenanthrene,
respectively. This is the first report which provides direct biochemi
cal evidence that the naphthalene plasmid degradative enzyme system is
involved in the degradation of higher-molecular-weight polycyclic aro
matic hydrocarbons other than naphthalene.