'Research Centre for East European Studies at the University of Bremen'
Abstract
Aromatic compounds are widely distributed and abundant in nature being main constituents of crude oil and important products of higher plants. The denitrifying Aromatoleum aromaticum strain EbN1 utilizes a wide range of aromatic and nonaromatic compounds under anoxic and oxic conditions. The recently determined genome sequence revealed corresponding degradation pathways and predicted a fine-tuned regulatory network.This work reports on the analysis of substrate specific regulation of anaerobic and aerobic degradation pathways in A. aromaticum strain EbN1 grown with 17 different aromatic and aliphatic compounds under oxic and anoxic conditions applying differential proteomics (2D DIGE). The comprehensive approach enabled the discovery of so far unaccounted catabolic capacities and their subsequent elucidation on the physiological, molecular and regulatory level. The adaptation of strain EbN1 to solvent stress was investigated on the physiological and proteomic level since strain EbN1 is able to degrade several toxic alkylbenzenes and alkylphenols. In addition, a genetic system for strain EbN1 is described enabling unmarked deletion mutagenesis
