Identification of Chromobacterium violaceum genes with potential biotechnological application in environmental detoxification

Marta S.P. Carepo, Juliana S. Nina de Azevedo, Jorge I.R. Porto, Alexandra R. Bentes-Sousa, Jacqueline da Si, va Batista, Artur L.C. da Silva, Maria P.C. Schneider

Published: March 31, 2004

Genet. Mol. Res. 3 (1) : 181-194

Cite this Article:

M.S.P. Carepo, J.S.Nina de Azevedo, J.I.R. Porto, A.R. Bentes-Sousa, Jda Silva Batista, A.L.C. da Silva, M.P.C. Schneider (2004). Identification of Chromobacterium violaceum genes with potential biotechnological application in environmental detoxification. Genet. Mol. Res. 3(1): 181-194.

About the Authors

Marta S.P. Carepo, Juliana S. Nina de Azevedo, Jorge I.R. Porto, Alexandra R. Bentes-Sousa, Jacqueline da Si, va Batista, Artur L.C. da Silva, Maria P.C. Schneider

ABSTRACT

Chromobacterium violaceum is a Gram-negative bacterium found in a wide variety of tropical and subtropical ecosystems. The complete genome sequence of C. violaceum ATCC 12472 is now available, and it has considerable biotechnological potential for various applications, such as environmental detoxification, as well as medical and agricultural use. We examined the biotechnological potential of C. violaceum for environmental detoxification. Three operons, comprising the ars operon, involved in arsenic resistance, the cyn operon, involved in cyanate detoxification, and the hcn operon, encoding a cyanase, responsible for biogenic production of cyanide, as well as an open reading frame, encoding an acid dehalogenase, were analyzed in detail. Probable catalytic mechanisms for the enzymes were determined, based on amino acid sequence comparisons and on published structural information for these types of proteins.

Key words: Chromobacterium violaceum, Environmental detoxification, Biotechnological potential.

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