ABSTRACT6-Chloro-2-benzoxazolinone (CDHB) is a precursor of herbicide, insecticide, and fungicide synthesis and has a broad spectrum of biological activity. Pigmentiphaga sp. strain DL-8 can transform CDHB into 2-amino-5-chlorophenol (2A5CP), which it then utilizes as a carbon source for growth. The CDHB hydrolase (CbaA) was purified from strain DL-8, which can also hydrolyze 2-benzoxazolinone (BOA), 5-chloro-2-BOA, and benzamide. The specific activity of purified CbaA was 5,900 U · mg protein
؊1for CDHB, with K m and k cat values of 0.29 mM and 8,500 s ؊1 , respectively. The optimal pH for purified CbaA was 9.0, the highest activity was observed at 55°C, and the inactive metal-free enzyme could be reactivated by Mg 2؉ , Ni 2؉ , Ca 2؉ , or Zn 2؉ . Based on the results obtained for the CbaA peptide mass fingerprinting and draft genome sequence of strain DL-8, cbaA (encoding 339 amino acids) was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli BL21(DE3). CbaA shared 18 to 21% identity with some metal-dependent hydrolases of the PF01499 family and contained the signature metal-binding motif Q 127 XXXQ 131 XD 133 XXXH 137 . The conserved amino acid residues His288 and Glu301 served as the proton donor and acceptor. E. coli BL21(DE3-pET-cbaA) resting cells could transform 0.2 mM CDHB into 2A5CP. The mutant strain DL-8⌬cbaA lost the ability to degrade CDHB but retained the ability to degrade 2A5CP, consistent with strain DL-8. These results indicated that cbaA was the key gene responsible for CDHB degradation by strain DL-8.
IMPORTANCE2-Benzoxazolinone (BOA) derivatives are widely used as synthetic intermediates and are also an important group of allelochemicals acting in response to tissue damage or pathogen attack in gramineous plants. However, the degradation mechanism of BOA derivatives by microorganisms is not clear. In the present study, we reported the identification of CbaA and metabolic pathway responsible for the degradation of CDHB in Pigmentiphaga sp. DL-8. This will provide microorganism and gene resources for the bioremediation of the environmental pollution caused by BOA derivatives.
6-Chloro-2-benzoxazolinone (CDHB) is the precursor of fenoxaprop-p-ethyl (FE) and metamifop synthesis (1). FE is a postemergence aryloxyphenoxy propionate (AOPP) herbicide that is used to control annual and perennial weeds in crops, such as soybean, turf, and wheat (2, 3). Many studies have demonstrated that FE can be hydrolyzed to fenoxaprop acid (FA) and further transformed into CDHB and 2-(4-hydroxyphenoxy)-propionic acid (HPP) by soil microorganisms (4-6). Recently, the hydrolysis of FE to FA by several esterases from different microorganisms has been reported (7-9). However, the underlying genes and the metabolic pathway responsible for the degradation of CDHB in microorganisms are unknown.CDHB is a type of 2-benzoxazolinone (BOA) derivative. BOA is widely used as a synthetic intermediate of related derivatives and is an important group of allelochemicals that respond to tissue damage or pathogen attack in gramineous plants, s...