Department of Biology, Yonsei University, Seoul 120-749, Republic of Korea.
Rhodococcus sp. strain YU6 was isolated from soil for the ability to grow on o-xylene as the sole carbon and energy source. Unlike most other o-xylene-degrading bacteria, YU6 is able to grow on p-xylene. Numerous growth substrate range experiments, in addition to the ring-cleavage enzyme assay data, suggest that YU6 initially metabolizes o- and p-xylene by direct aromatic ring oxidation. This leads to the formation of dimethylcatechols, which was further degraded largely through meta-cleavage pathway. The gene encoding meta-cleavage dioxygenase enzyme was PCR cloned from genomic YU6 DNA using previously known gene sequence data from the o-xylene-degrading Rhodococcus sp. strain DK17. Subsequent sequencing of the 918-bp PCR product revealed a 98% identity to the gene, encoding methylcatechol 2,3-dioxygenase from DK17. PFGE analysis followed by Southern hybridization with the catechol 2,3-dioxygenase gene demonstrated that the gene is located on an approximately 560-kb megaplasmid, designated pJYJ1.