Isolation and identification of a gene encoding 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase from the red-brown pigment-producing bacterium Alteromonas stellipolaris LMG 21856.

We describe the isolation and identification of a gene encoding 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase (HPPD (EC 1.13.11.27)) from the red-brown pigment-producing bacterium Alteromonas stellipolaris LMG 21856. HPPD directs the synthesis of 2,5-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (homogentisic acid (HGA)). The sequence of the deduced peptide showed homology to HPPDs from other strains of Alteromonas; the greatest similarity was to the hypothetical HPPD from Alteromonas sp. SN2. As observed for HPPDs from other sources, expression of the A. stellipolaris HPPD gene in Escherichia coli cells could be detected by the gradual development of a brown pigment in cultures as a result of the spontaneous oxidation and polymerization of HGA.