Analysis of unique carbazole degrading bacteria and its genes

Abstract

Marine carbazole (CAR) degrading bacteria strain OC6S and Terrabacter sp. OC11 were isolated from seawater samples in Japan with artificial seawater media containing CAR as a sole carbon source. In previous study, CAR-degrading genes (car genes) of those strains have been determined and analyzed. However several characterizations of those strains still were not revealed. In growth substrates test, Strains OC6S and OC11 could utilize the following compounds as a sole carbon source: sodium hydrogen L(+ )-gutamate monohydrate and sodium pyruvate. In addition, strain OC11 could utilize the following compounds as a sole carbon source: D(+)-glucose, D(-)-mannose, D(-)- fructose, sucrose, sodium benzoate and sodium salicylate. RT-PCR revealed that carAa, carBa, carBb and care of strain OC6S constitute an operon. Southern hybridization indicated that strain OC11 had one car gene cluster in vivo and that the car gene cluster is most likely located on a plasmid. In addition, new CAR degrading bacterium, strain CAR-SN13W, was isolated from soil of Niigata, Japan in this study. Colonies of strain CAR-SN 13W was orange.