A Recently Assembled Degradation Pathway for 2,3-Dichloronitrobenzene in <i>Diaphorobacter</i> sp. Strain JS3051
Tao Li, Yi‐Zhou Gao, Jia Xu, Shuting Zhang, Yuan Guo, Jim C. Spain, Ning‐Yi Zhou
Abstract
Because anthropogenic nitroaromatic compounds have entered the biosphere relatively recently, exploration of the recently evolved catabolic pathways can provide clues for adaptive evolutionary mechanisms in bacteria. The concept that nitroarene dioxygenases shared a common ancestor with naphthalene dioxygenase is well established. But their phylogeny and how they evolved in response to novel nitroaromatic compounds are largely unknown. Elucidation of the molecular basis for 23DCNB degradation revealed that the catabolic pathways of two DCNB isomers in different isolates from the same site were derived from different recent origins. Integrating structural models of catalytic subunits and enzymatic activities data provided new insight about how recently modified enzymes were selected depending on the structure of new substrates. This study enhances understanding and prediction of adaptive evolution of catabolic pathways in bacteria in response to new chemicals.