Location and organization of the dimethylphenol catabolic genes of Pseudomonas CF600

The gene organization of the phenol catabolic pathway of Pseudomonas CF600 has been investigated. This strain can grow on phenol and some methylated phenols by virtue of an inducible phenol hydroxylase and metacleavage pathway enzymes. The genes coding for these enzymes are located on pVI150, an IncP-2 degradative mega plasmid of this strain. Twenty-three kilobases of contiguous DNA were isolated from lambda libraries constructed from strains harbouring wild type and Tn5 insertion mutants of pVI150. A 19.9 kb region of this DNA has been identified which encodes all the catabolic genes of the pathway. Using transposon mutagenesis, polypeptide analysis and expression of subfragments of DNA, the genes encoding the first four enzymatic steps of the pathway have been individually mapped and found to lie adjacent to each other. The order of these genes is the same as that for isofunctional genes of TOL plasmid pWWO and plasmid NAH7.