Biodegradation: challenging the constraints (LimitBioDeg)

Juan Luis Ramos Martín, Tino Krell, Estrella Duque, Jesús Lacal Romero, Hortencia Silva Jiménez, Andreas Busch, Cristina García Fontana, Jesús Muñoz Rojas.

Studies reveal a series of constraints, in particular the deficient expression of the degradation pathways of biodegrading bacteria and low bioavailability of the compound to be degraded. These precisely are the topics broached in this research project. Studies will be conducted with bacteria of the Pseudomonas putida species, which are model organisms in the biodegradation field. Several strains of this species are able to degrade toluene, a highly toxic compound, and use it as a source of carbon.

The project will explore the complex mechanism that induces the degradation pathway of toluene via the two-component system TodS/TodT. Further, our laboratory work has identified a strain exhibiting extremely strong chemiotactic behavior in the presence of highly toxic aromatic compounds. Studies will proceed on the molecular mechanism governing this process and its importance in the efficiency of in situ toxic compound degradation. The results may provide useful pointers for improving the bacterial biodegradation of toxic compounds.