Maintenance and induction of naphthalene degradation activity in Pseudomonas putida and an Alcaligenes sp. under different culture conditions.

The expression of xenobiotic-degradative genes in indigenous bacteria or in bacteria introduced into an ecosystem is essential for the successful bioremediation of contaminated environments. The maintenance of naphthalene utilization activity is studied in Pseudomonas putida (ATCC 17484) and an Alcaligenes sp. (strain NP-Alk) under different batch culture conditions. Levels of activity decreased exponentially in stationary phase with half-lives of 43 and 13 h for strains ATCC 17484 and NP-Alk, respectively. Activity half-lives were 2.7 and 5.3 times longer, respectively, in starved cultures than in stationary-phase cultures following growth on naphthalene. The treatment of starved cultures with chloramphenicol caused a loss of activity more rapid than that measured in untreated starved cultures, suggesting a continued enzyme synthesis in starved cultures in the absence of a substrate. Following growth in nutrient medium, activity decreased to undetectable levels in the Alcaligenes sp. but remained at measurable levels in the pseudomonad even after 9 months. The induction of naphthalene degradation activities in these cultures, when followed by radiorespirometry with 14C-labeled naphthalene as the substrate, was consistent with activity maintenance data. In the pseudomonad, naphthalene degradation activity was present constitutively at low levels under all growth conditions and was rapidly (in approximately 15 min) induced to high levels upon exposure to naphthalene. Adaptation in the uninduced Alcaligenes sp. occurred after many hours of exposure to naphthalene. In vivo labeling with 35S, to monitor the extent of de novo enzyme synthesis by naphthalene-challenged cells, provided an independent confirmation of the results.