Related Experiment Videos
Isolation and characterization of alkane-utilizing Nocardioides sp. strain CF8
1Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331-2902, USA.
FEMS Microbiology Letters
|April 26, 2000
Summary
Researchers discovered a novel butane-degrading bacterium, Nocardioides strain CF8. This bacterium utilizes a copper-containing monooxygenase, similar to those found in ammonia oxidizers and methanotrophs, for butane metabolism.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Biochemistry
- Environmental Science
Background:
- Butane, a short-chain alkane, is a common environmental pollutant.
- Microbial degradation of alkanes is crucial for bioremediation.
- The enzymes responsible for alkane oxidation are often complex metalloenzymes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To isolate and characterize a novel bacterium capable of utilizing butane as a sole carbon source.
- To elucidate the enzymatic machinery involved in butane degradation.
- To compare the butane-degrading enzyme with known alkane-oxidizing enzymes.
Main Methods:
- Isolation and cultivation of butane-utilizing bacteria.
- Chemotaxonomic analysis for bacterial identification.
- 16S rDNA sequencing for phylogenetic analysis.
- Substrate range testing.
- Enzyme activity assays, including light inactivation studies.
- Analysis of acetylene-binding polypeptides.
Main Results:
- A bacterial strain, designated CF8, was isolated and identified as belonging to the genus Nocardioides.
- Strain CF8 demonstrated growth on a wide range of alkanes (C2-C16), butane, primary alcohols, carboxylic acids, and phenol.
- Butane degradation activity in strain CF8 was sensitive to light, indicating the involvement of copper-containing monooxygenases.
- Unique thermal aggregation of acetylene-binding polypeptides was observed in strain CF8.
Conclusions:
- Strain CF8 represents a novel Nocardioides species with a broad substrate range, including butane.
- The butane-degrading enzyme in strain CF8 is a copper-containing monooxygenase.
- This finding suggests a third distinct group of copper-containing monooxygenases involved in alkane metabolism, expanding our understanding of microbial oxidation pathways.