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Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) synthesis genes in Azotobacter sp. strain FA8
M J Pettinari1, G J Vázquez, D Silberschmidt
1Departamento de Química Biológica, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Abstract:
Genes responsible for the synthesis of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) in Azotobacter sp. FA8 were cloned and analyzed. A PHB polymerase gene (phbC) was found downstream from genes coding for beta-ketothiolase (phbA) and acetoacetyl-coenzyme A reductase (phbB). A PHB synthase mutant was obtained by gene inactivation and used for genetic studies. The phbC gene from this strain was introduced into Ralstonia eutropha PHB-4 (phbC-negative mutant), and the recombinant accumulated PHB when either glucose or octanoate was used as a source of carbon, indicating that this PHB synthase cannot incorporate medium-chain-length hydroxyalkanoates into PHB.