Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are toxic pollutants found in the environment which can be removed through the use of physical and biological agents. The rate of PAH biodegradation is affected by environmental conditions of pH, salinity and temperature. Adaptation of the pyrene degrading bacteria, Mycobacterium gilvum PYR-GCK, to fluctuating environmental conditions during pyrene biodegrading activity was studied using the quantitative real time – Polymerase Chain Reaction (qRT-PCR) technique. Four aromatic ring-cleavage dioxygenase genes: phdF, phdI, pcaG and pcaH; critical to pyrene biodegradation, were studied in pH states of 5.5, 6.5, 7.5 and NaCl concentrations 0 M, 0.17 M, 0.5 M, 0.6 M, 1 M. First, we conducted a residual pyrene study using gas chromatography and flame ionization technologies. Central to a gene expression study is the use of a valid endogenous reference gene, making its determination our next approach, using the geNorm/NormFinder algorithms. Armed with a valid control gene, rpoB, we applied it to a gene expression study, using the comparative critical threshold (2ΔΔCT) quantification method. The pyrene degrading activity of the strain was strongly functional in all the NaCl concentration states, with the least activity found at 1M (∼70% degraded after 48 hours of cultivation). The transcripts quantification of three genes backed this observation with high expression levels. The gene expression levels also revealed pH 6.5 as optimal for pyrene degradation and weak degradation activity at pH of 5.5, corroborating the residual pyrene analysis. The expression of these genes as proteins has already been studied in our laboratory using proteomics techniques and this validates our current study.

Various hydrocarbons have been released into the environment as a result of industrialization. An effective way of removing these materials without further environmental contamination is microbial bioremediation. Mycobacterium gilvum PYR-GCK, a bacteria isolated from a PAH polluted estuary, was studied using comparative shotgun proteomics to gain insight on its molecular activity while using pyrene and glucose as sole carbon and energy sources. Based on annotated genomic information, a confirmation analysis was first performed to confirm its pyrene degradation activity, using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry technology. One dimensional gel electrophoresis and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry technologies employed in the proteomics analysis revealed the expression of pyrene degrading gene products along with upregulated expression of proteins functioning in the glyoxylate and shikimate pathways, in the pyrene-induced cells. The study also revealed the pathway of pyrene degraded intermediates, via partial gluconeogenesis, into the pentose phosphate pathway to produce precursors for nucleotides and amino acids biosynthesis.

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