Open AccessDiscovery of a Marine Bacterium Producing 4-Hydroxybenzoate and Its Alkyl Esters, Parabens
Author(s) -
Xue Peng,
Kyoko Adachi,
Choryu Chen,
Hiroaki Kasai,
Kaneo Kanoh,
Yoshikazu Shizuri,
Norihiko Misawa
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
applied and environmental microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.552
H-Index - 324
eISSN - 1070-6291
pISSN - 0099-2240
DOI - 10.1128/aem.00494-06
Subject(s) - bacteria , preservative , marine bacteriophage , microorganism , food science , alkyl , chemistry , strain (injury) , biology , microbiology and biotechnology , organic chemistry , genetics , anatomy
Chemically synthesized 4-hydroxybenzoate (4HBA) is widely used in the chemical and electrical industries as a material for producing polymers such as those of the liquid crystal type. Its alkyl esters, called parabens, have been the most widely used preservatives by the food and cosmetic industries. We report here for the first time a microorganism, a marine bacterium, which biosynthesizes these petrochemical products. The marine bacterial strain, A4B-17, which was found to belong to the genusMicrobulbifer on the basis of its rRNA andgyrB sequences, was isolated from an ascidian in the coastal waters of Palau. Strain A4B-17 was, surprisingly, found to produce 10 mg/liter of 4HBA, together with its butyl (24 mg/liter), heptyl (0.4 mg/liter), and nonyl (6 mg/liter) esters. We therefore characterized 23 other marine bacteria belonging to the genusMicrobulbifer , which our institute had previously isolated from various marine environments, and found that these bacteria also produced 4HBA, although with low production levels (less than one-fifth of that produced by A4B-17). We also show that the alkyl esters of 4HBA produced by strain A4B-17 were effective in preventing the growth of yeasts, molds, and gram-positive bacteria.