Open AccessThe Effect of Cellular Redox Status on the Evolvability of New Catabolic Pathways
Author(s) -
Maia Kivisaar
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
mbio
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.562
H-Index - 121
eISSN - 2161-2129
pISSN - 2150-7511
DOI - 10.1128/mbio.01981-18
Subject(s) - evolvability , pseudomonas putida , catabolism , reactive oxygen species , bacteria , metabolic pathway , oxidative phosphorylation , burkholderia , redox , microbiology and biotechnology , chemistry , prophage , gene , biology , biochemistry , metabolism , genetics , escherichia coli , organic chemistry , bacteriophage
Oxidation of aromatic compounds can be mutagenic due to the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in bacterial cells and thereby facilitate evolution of corresponding catabolic pathways. To examine the effect of the background biochemical network on the evolvability of environmental bacteria hosting a new catabolic pathway, Akkaya and colleagues (mBio 9:e01512-18, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1128/mBio.01512-18) introduced the still-evolving 2,4-dinitrotoluene (2,4-DNT) pathway genes from the original environmental Burkholderia sp. isolate into the genome of Pseudomonas putida KT2440. They show that the mutagenic effect of 2,4-DNT oxidation, which is associated with the accumulation of ROS and oxidative damage on DNA, can be avoided by preserving high NADPH levels in P. putida The observations of this study highlight the impact of the cellular redox status of bacteria on the evolvability of new metabolic pathways.