• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.104-111
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• 2007

In this study, aniline dioxygenase genes responsible for initial catabolism of aniline in Burkholderia sp. HY1 and Delftia sp. HY99 were cloned and the amino acid sequences were comparatively analyzed, which already have been reported as bacteria utilizing aniline as a sole source of carbon and nitrogen, B. sp. HY1 was found to have at least a plasmid, and the plasmld-cured strain, B. sp. HY1-PC obtained using mitomycin C was tested with wild type strain to investigate whether the former maintained the degradability for aniline. This proved that the aniline oxygenase gene from B. sp. HY1 was located in chromosomal DNA, not in plasmid DNA. Aniline dioxygenase small subunits from B. sp. HY1 and D. sp. HY99 were found, based on 146 amino acids, to share 79% similarity. Notably, ado2 genes from B. sp. HY1 and D. sp. HY99 which were found to be terminal dioxygenase of aniline dioxygenase small subunit showed 99% similarity in the deduced amino acid sequences with tdnA2 of Frateuria sp. ANA-18 and danA2 of D. sp. AN3, respectively. Besides, enzyme assay and amino acid sequence analysis of catechol dioxygenase supported the previous report that B. sp. HY1 might occupy ortho-cleavage pathway using catechol 1,2-dioxygenase, while D. sp. HY99 might occupy catechol 2,3-dioxygenase for meta-cleavage pathway.