Bm. Rosner et al., ACETYLENE DEGRADATION BY NEW ISOLATES OF AEROBIC-BACTERIA AND COMPARISON OF ACETYLENE HYDRATASE ENZYMES, FEMS microbiology letters, 148(2), 1997, pp. 175-180
Aerobic acetylene-degrading bacteria were isolated from soil samples.
Two isolates were assigned to the species Rhodococcus opacus, two othe
rs to Rhodococcus ruber and Gordona sp. They were compared with known
strains of aerobic acetylene-, cyanide-, or nitrile-utilizing bacteria
. The acetylene hydratases of R. opacus could be measured in cell-free
extracts only in the presence of a strong reductant like titanium(III
) citrate. Expression of these enzymes was molybdenum-dependent. Acety
lene hydratases in cell-free extracts of R. ruber and Gordona spp. did
not require addition of reductants. No cross-reactivity could be foun
d between cell-free extracts of any of these aerobic isolates and anti
bodies raised against the acetylene hydratase of the strictly anaerobi
c fermenting bacterium Pelobacter acetylenicus. These results show tha
t acetylene hydratases biochemically heterogeneous group of enzymes.