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Metabolism‐dependent taxis towards (methyl)phenols is coupled through the most abundant of three polar localized Aer‐like proteins of Pseudomonas putida
Author(s) -
Sarand Inga,
Österberg Sofia,
Holmqvist Sofie,
Holmfeldt Per,
Skärfstad Eleonore,
Parales Rebecca E.,
Shingler Victoria
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
environmental microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.954
H-Index - 188
eISSN - 1462-2920
pISSN - 1462-2912
DOI - 10.1111/j.1462-2920.2007.01546.x
Subject(s) - pseudomonas putida , biology , chemotaxis , biochemistry , phenols , metabolism , context (archaeology) , mutant , operon , receptor , enzyme , paleontology , gene
Summary Comparatively little is known about directed motility of environmental bacteria to common aromatic pollutants. Here, by expressing different parts of a (methyl)phenol‐degradative pathway and the use of specific mutants, we show that taxis of Pseudomonas putida towards (methyl)phenols is dictated by its ability to catabolize the aromatic compound. Thus, in contrast to previously described chemoreceptor‐mediated chemotaxis mechanisms towards benzoate, naphthalene and toluene, taxis in response to (methyl)phenols is mediated by metabolism‐dependent behaviour. Here we show that P. putida differentially expresses three Aer‐like receptors that are all polar‐localized through interactions with CheA, and that inactivation of the most abundant Aer2 protein significantly decreases taxis towards phenolics. In addition, the participation of a sensory signal transduction protein composed of a PAS, a GGDEF and an EAL domain in motility towards these compounds is demonstrated. The results are discussed in the context of the versatility of metabolism‐dependent coupling and the necessity for P. putida to integrate diverse metabolic signals from its native heterogeneous soil and water environments.