Pseudomonas sp. strain KKS102 is able to degrade biphenyl and polychlorinated biphenyls via the meta-cleavage pathway. We sequenced the upstream region of the bphA1A2A3BCD (open reading frame 1 [ORF1]) A4 and found four ORFs in this region. As the deduced amino acid sequences of the first, second, and third ORFs are homologous to the meta-cleavage enzymes from Pseudomonas sp. strain CF600 (V. Shingler, J. Powlowski, and U. Marklund, J. Bacteriol. 174:711-724, 1992), these ORFs have been named bphE, bphG, and bphF, respectively. The fourth ORF (ORF4) showed homology with ORF3 from Pseudomonas pseudoalcaligenes KF707 (K. Taira, J. Hirose, S. Hayashida, and K. Furukawa, J. Biol. Chem. 267:4844-4853, 1992), whose function is unknown. The functions ofmeta-cleavage enzymes (BphE, BphG, and BphF) were analyzed by using crude extracts ofEscherichia coli which expressed the encoding genes. The results showed that bphE, bphG, and bphF encode 2-hydroxypenta-2,4-dienoate hydratase, acetaldehyde dehydrogenase (acylating), and 4-hydroxy-2-oxovalerate aldolase, respectively. The biphenyl and polychlorinated biphenyl degradation pathway of KKS102 is encoded by 12 genes in the order bphEGF (0RF4)A1A2A3BCD (ORF1)A4. The functions of ORF1 and ORF4 are unknown. The features of this bph gene cluster are discussed.The aerobic degradation pathways of various aromatic compounds (benzene, toluene, xylene, phenol, naphthalene, biphenyls, polychlorinated biphenyls [PCBs], etc.) have been studied in many bacteria (28, 32). The initial conversion steps of these aromatic compounds are carried out by different enzymes, and the compounds are transformed to catecholic intermediates. These are then cleaved by dioxygenase and transformed to Krebs cycle intermediates. Bacterial aromatic ring cleavage pathways are classified into two groups, the ortho-cleavage pathway and the meta-cleavage pathway (9). In the orthocleavage pathway, catecholic compounds are transformed to the common intermediate 3-oxoadipate enol-lactone, which is further converted to succinate and acetyl coenzyme A (acetylCoA) (32). In the meta-cleavage pathway, they are transformed to pyruvate and a short-chain aldehyde (32).Detailed study of the meta-cleavage pathway was carried out in TOL plasmid pWWO to determine its gene organization, regulation of expression, and enzymatic functions (2, 3). The meta-cleavage operon is composed of 13 genes which encode enzymes for the conversion of methylbenzoate to pyruvate and acetaldehyde (10). Another study of the meta-cleavage pathway was carried out in plasmid NAH7, which encodes the enzymes required for the degradation of naphthalene via salicylate (25,35). Plasmid NAH7 contains two operons, the nah and sal operons. The meta-cleavage pathway genes of the sal operon are similar to those of the TOL plasmid, and DNA sequences of the two operons are homologous (1, 12). Recently, another meta-cleavage pathway was characterized in Pseudomonas sp. strain CF600, which is able to grow on phenol, cresols, or 3,4-dimethylphenol (27). The meta-clea...