Pseudomonas putida is a
gram-negativeGram-negative bacteria are those bacteria that do not retain crystal violet dye in the Gram staining protocol. In a Gram stain test, a counterstain is added after the crystal violet, coloring all Gram-negative bacteria with a red or pink color...
rod-shaped saprotrophic
soilSoil is a natural body consisting of layers of mineral constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent materials in their morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics. It is composed of particles of broken rock that have been altered by chemical and...
bacterium. Based on 16S rRNA analysis,
P. putida has been placed in the
P. putida group, to which it lends its name.
It is the first patented organism in the world. Because it is a living organism the patent was disputed and brought before the United States Supreme Court in the historic court case
Diamond v. ChakrabartyDiamond v. Chakrabarty, , was a United States Supreme Court case dealing with whether genetically modified micro-organisms can be patented.-Background:...
which the inventor, Ananda M.
Pseudomonas putida is a
gram-negativeGram-negative bacteria are those bacteria that do not retain crystal violet dye in the Gram staining protocol. In a Gram stain test, a counterstain is added after the crystal violet, coloring all Gram-negative bacteria with a red or pink color...
rod-shaped saprotrophic
soilSoil is a natural body consisting of layers of mineral constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent materials in their morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics. It is composed of particles of broken rock that have been altered by chemical and...
bacterium. Based on 16S rRNA analysis,
P. putida has been placed in the
P. putida group, to which it lends its name.
It is the first patented organism in the world. Because it is a living organism the patent was disputed and brought before the United States Supreme Court in the historic court case
Diamond v. ChakrabartyDiamond v. Chakrabarty, , was a United States Supreme Court case dealing with whether genetically modified micro-organisms can be patented.-Background:...
which the inventor, Ananda M. Chakrabarty, won. It demonstrates a very diverse metabolism, including the ability to degrade organic solvents such as
tolueneToluene, also known as methylbenzene, or Toluol, is a clear water-insoluble liquid with the typical smell of paint thinners, reminiscent of the related compound benzene. It is an aromatic hydrocarbon that is widely used as an industrial feedstock and as a solvent...
. This ability has been put to use in
bioremediationBioremediation can be defined as any process that uses microorganisms, fungi, green plants or their enzymes to return the natural environment altered by contaminants to its original condition. Bioremediation may be employed to attack specific soil contaminants, such as degradation of chlorinated...
, or the use of microorganisms to biodegrade oil. Use of
P. putida is preferable to some other
PseudomonasPseudomonas is a genus of gamma proteobacteria, belonging to the larger family of pseudomonads.Recently, 16S rRNA sequence analysis has redefined the taxonomy of many bacterial species. As a result the genus Pseudomonas includes strains formerly classified in the genera Chryseomonas and Flavimonas...
species capable of such degradation as it is a safe strain of bacteria, unlike
P. aeruginosa for example, which is an opportunistic human pathogen.
Bioremediation
The diverse metabolism of
P. putida may be exploited for bioremediation; for example, it is used as a
soil inoculantSoil inoculants are bacteria or fungi that are added to soils in order to improve plant growth by either:*Freeing up soil nutrients for plant use.*Entering into symbiotic relationships with plant root systems....
to remedy
naphthaleneNaphthalene, also known as naphthalin, or antimite and not to be confused with naphtha, is a crystalline, aromatic, white, solid hydrocarbon with formula C
10H
8 and the structure of two fused benzene rings. It is best known as the traditional, primary ingredient of mothballs...
contaminated soils.
P. putida is capable of converting
styreneStyrene, also known as vinyl benzene as well as many other names , is an organic compound with the chemical formula C
6H
5CH=CH
2. This aromatic hydrocarbon is a colorless oily liquid that evaporates easily and has a sweet smell, although high concentrations confer a...
oil into the
biodegradable plasticBiodegradable plastics are plastics that will decompose in natural aerobic and anaerobic environments. Biodegradation of plastics can be achieved by enabling microorganisms in the environment to metabolize the molecular structure of plastic films to produce an inert humus-like material that is...
PHAPolyhydroxyalkanoates or PHAs are linear polyesters produced in nature by bacterial fermentation of sugar or lipids. They are produced by the bacteria to store carbon and energy. More than 150 different monomers can be combined within this family to give materials with extremely different properties...
. This may be of use in the effective
recyclingRecycling involves processing used materials into new products to prevent waste of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce energy usage, reduce air pollution and water pollution by reducing the need for "conventional" waste disposal, and lower...
of
PolystyrenePolystyrene , sometimes abbreviated PS, is an aromatic polymer made from the aromatic monomer styrene, a liquid hydrocarbon that is commercially manufactured from petroleum by the chemical industry...
foam, otherwise thought to be non-biodegradable.
Biocontrol
P. putida has demonstrated potential biocontrol properties, as an effective antagonist of damping off diseases such as
PythiumPythium is a genus of parasitic oomycete. Because this group of organisms were once classified as fungi, they are sometimes still treated as such.-Morphology:*Hyphae...
and
FusariumFusarium is a large genus of filamentous fungi widely distributed in soil and in association with plants. Most species are harmless saprobes and are relatively abundant members of the soil microbial community. Some species produce mycotoxins in cereal crops that can affect human and animal health...
.
Genome Sequencing Projects
In 2002 The genome of
Pseudomonas putida strain KT2440 has been sequenced, and sequencing of
P. putida F1 is in progress.
Oligonucleotide Usage Signatures of the Pseudomonas putida KT2440 Genome
Di- to pentanucleotide usage and the list of the most abundant octa- to tetradecanucleotides are useful measures of the bacterial genomic signature. The
Pseudomonas putida KT2440 chromosome is characterized by strand symmetry and intra-strand parity of complementary oligonucleotides. Each tetranucleotide occurs with similar frequency on the two strands. Tetranucleotide usage is biased by G+C content and physicochemical constraints such as base stacking energy, dinucleotide propeller twist angle or trinucleotide bendability. The 105 regions with atypical
oligonucleotideAn oligonucleotide is a short nucleic acid polymer, typically with twenty or fewer bases. Although they can be formed by bond cleavage of longer segments, they are now more commonly synthesized by polymerizing individual nucleotide precursors...
composition can be differentiated by their patterns of oligonucleotide usage into categories of horizontally acquired gene islands, multidomain genes or ancient regions such as genes for ribosomal proteins and RNAs. A species-specific extragenic
palindromic sequenceA palindrome is a word that is the same forward as it is backward such as the word racecar, the name Otto, or the saying attributed to Napoleon "Able was I ere I saw Elba". Certain sequences of DNA are the same whether they are read 5' to 3' or 3' to 5'...
is the most common repeat in the genome that can be exploited for the typing of
P. putida strains. In the coding sequence of
P. putida LLL is the most abundant tripeptide.
Organic Synthesis
Certain variants of the bacteria have been used in
organic synthesisOrganic synthesis is a special branch of chemical synthesis and is concerned with the construction of organic compounds via organic reactions. Organic molecules can often contain a higher level of complexity compared to purely inorganic compounds, so the synthesis of organic compounds has...
, the first example being the oxidation of benzene, employed by Prof. S. V. Ley in the synthesis of
cyclitolCyclitols are cycloalkanes containing one hydroxyl group on three or more ring atoms. They are cyclic polyols.-Naturally occuring cyclitols:* Chlorogenic acid* Conduritol* Inositol* Quinic acid* Shikimic acid...
s.