Complete Biodegradation of 4-Fluorocinnamic Acid by a Consortium Comprising Arthrobacter sp. Strain G1 and Ralstonia sp. Strain H1

Abstract

Fluorinated organic compounds are of growing industrial importance, with applications such as agrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, and performance materials (23,24,28,41). The safe use of such compounds, as well as appropriate disposal and treatment of wastes, will benefit from knowledge about their biodegradation. However, little information is available about the microbial metabolism of fluorinated organic compounds compared to other halogenated chemicals. Most studies on the bacterial degradation of fluorinated organics describe fluorobenzoic acids, which under aerobic conditions can be converted into the corresponding fluorocatechols (3, 17, 33). Papers about the degradation of fluorophenols have also appeared (11,25,51).4-Fluorocinnamic acid (4-FCA) is used in industry for the synthesis of flavors and pharmaceuticals (8), and polymers of 4-FCA are applied in electronics (14). It was proposed that under aerobic conditions in nonacclimated industrial activated sludge, 4-FCA could be converted into 4-fluorobenzoic acid (4-FBA) via the formation of 4-fluoroacetophenone (4-FAP) (8, 32). In another study, using activated sludge from a wastewater treatment plant, 4-FCA was suggested to be transformed into an epoxide that is converted to 4-FAP. This compound would then be converted into 4-FBA, but no products were detected from the breakdown of 4-FBA (5).The conversion of nonhalogenated cinnamic acids to benzoic acids, such as the transformation of ferulic acid to vanillic acid, has been described previously (2,4,20,31,39). Cinnamic acid, coumaric acid, and ferulic acid are transformed by Streptomyces setonii (47) and Rhodopseudomonas palustris to benzoic acid or the corresponding derivatives (19). Alcanivorax borkumensis MBIC 4326 (9) and Papillibacter cinnamivorans (7) transformed cinnamic acid into benzoic acid. The metabolism of these compounds thus proceeds with side chain degradation prior to ring cleavage. Side chain degradation is carried out either by ␤-oxidation or by direct deacetylation mechanisms, which leads to elimination of two carbon units from the unsaturated side chain in bacteria, yeasts, and fungi (40).Since no clear information on the degradation route of 4-FCA is available, we have isolated two pure bacterial strains to study the complete microbial metabolism of the compound, and in this paper, we propose a degradation pathway. MATERIALS AND METHODSGrowth conditions. Cells of strains G1 and H1 were grown aerobically at 30°C under rotary shaking or in a fermentor. Growth medium (MMY) contained (per liter) 5.37 g of Na 2 HPO 4 ⅐ 12H 2 O, 1.36 g of KH 2 PO 4 , 0.5 g of (NH 4 ) 2 SO 4 , and 0. Enrichment and isolation of 4-FCA-and 4-FBA-degrading organisms. Soil samples collected from a site in the Netherlands contaminated mainly with chlorobenzene and halogenated aliphatic compounds were used as the initial inocula for the 4-FCA and 4-FBA enrichment cultures. Flasks contained 40 ml MMY and 5 mM 4-FCA or 5 mM 4-FBA as the sole source of carbon and energy. The cultures were incubated at room temperatur...

Paracetamol in the environment and its degradation by microorganisms

“…Although these chemical methods may be available for treating these pollutants, the harsh reaction conditions, the generation of secondary pollutants, and the high operational cost associated with these methods have often made them not a desirable choice (Li et al 2007;Chen et al 2010). Biodegradation of pharmaceutical compounds is being considered as an environmentally friendly and low-cost option and has been demonstrated to have the potential to eliminate pharmaceuticals by degrading them into innocuous end products such as CO 2 and H 2 O (Hasan et al 2011;Chen et al 2010). However, little information is available about the biodegradation of paracetamol compared to other pharmaceutical compounds.…”

Degradation of paracetamol by pure bacterial cultures and their microbial consortium

“…Although these chemical methods may be available for treating these pollutants, the harsh reaction conditions, the generation of secondary pollutants, and the high operational cost associated with these methods have often made them not a desirable choice (Chen et al 2010;Li et al 2007). Biodegradation of pharmaceutical compounds is being considered as an environmentally friendly and low-cost option, and has been demonstrated to have the potential to eliminate pharmaceuticals by degrading them into innocuous end products such as CO 2 and H 2 O (Hasan et al 2011;Chen et al 2010). However, little information is available about the biodegradation of paracetamol compared to other pharmaceutical compounds.…”

Development of an UPLC–MS/MS Method for Assaying The Enzymatic Activity of Propionyl Coenzyme-A Carboxylase

“…MRM was also applied to monitor the precursor and product ions. The mass spectra for MM-COA and PP-COA were acquired by continuous infu- While we are unable to identify such a m/z peak from the fragmentation of any of the three precursor molecules, the existence of this peak could represent an 4-fluorocinnamoylpantetheine impurity present in the commercially purchased MM-COA tetra-lithium salt as previously reported by another group [26].…”