Degradation of 2-methylaniline and chlorinated isomers of 2-methylaniline by Rhodococcus rhodochrous strain CTM.

Rhodococcus rhodochrous strain CTM co-metabolized 2-methylaniline and some of its chlorinated isomers in the presence of ethanol as additional carbon source. Degradation of 2-methylaniline proceeded via 3-methylcatechol, which was metabolized mainly by meta-cleavage. In the case of 3-chloro-2-methylaniline, however, only a small proportion (about 10%) was subjected to meta-cleavage; the chlorinated meta-cleavage product was accumulated in the culture fluid as a dead-end metabolite. In contrast, 4-chloro-2-methylaniline was degraded via ortho-cleavage exclusively. Enzyme assays showed the presence of catechol 1,2-dioxygenase and catechol 2,3-dioxygenase as inducible enzymes in strain CTM. Extended cultivation of strain CTM with 2-methylaniline and 3-chloro-2-methylaniline yielded mutants, including R. rhodochrous strain CTM2, that had lost catechol 2,3-dioxygenase activity; these mutants degraded the aromatic amines exclusively via the ortho-cleavage pathway. DNA hybridization experiments using a gene probe revealed the loss of the catechol 2,3-dioxygenase gene from strain CTM2.