Metabolism of phenol and cresols by mutants of Pseudomonas putida.

Mutant strains of Pseudomonas putida strain U have been obtained which are deficient in enzymes of the degradative pathways of phenol and cresols. Mutant strains deficient in catechol 2, 3-oxygenase accumulated the appropriate catechol derivative from cresols. A mutant strain which would not grow on either phenol or a cresol was shown to be deficient in both 2-hydroxymuconic semialdehyde hydrolase and a nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, oxidized form, (NAD(+))-dependent aldehyde dehydrogenase. When this strain was grown in the presence of phenol or a cresol, the appropriate product of meta fission of these compounds accumulated in the growth medium. A partial revertant of this mutant strain, which was able to grow on ortho- and meta-cresol but not para-cresol, was shown to have regained only the hydrolase activity. This strain was used to show that the products of meta ring fission of the cresols and phenol are metabolized as follows: (i) ortho- and meta-cresol exclusively by a hydrolase; (ii) para-cresol exclusively by a NAD(+)-dependent aldehyde dehydrogenase; (iii) phenol by both a NAD(+)-dependent dehydrogenase and a hydrolase in the approximate ratio of 5 to 1. This conclusion is supported by the substrate specificity and enzymatic activity of the hydrolase and NAD(+)-dependent aldehyde dehydrogenase enzymes of the wild-type strain. The results are discussed in terms of the physiological significance of the pathway. Properties of some of the mutant strains isolated are discussed.