pTDN1, A Catabolic Plasmid Involved in Aromatic Amine Catabolism in Pseudomonas putida mt-2

SUMMARY: The ability of Pseudomonas putida mt-2 strain UCC2 to grow with aniline, m- and p-toluidine and m-toluate (the Tdn+ phenotype) is plasmid encoded. Strain UCC2 contains two plasmids of which pUCC2 is a deleted derivative of the TOL plasmid pWW0 (Worsey & Williams, 1975) and can be lost from the strain with no effect on the Tdn+ phenotype. The second plasmid in strain UCC2, pTDN1, harbours genes involved in the Tdn+ phenotype and is conjugative. The catechol 2,3-dioxygenase (C230) structural gene resident on pTDN1 has been cloned into the broad host range vector pKT231. The relative specific activity towards substituted catechols of C23O expressed in the cloned fragment in Escherichia coli is similar to that expressed in P. putida strain UCC2.