Experimental evidence of a xylose-catabolic pathway on the pAO1 megaplasmid of Arthrobacter nicotinovorans

The pAO1 megaplasmid of A. nicotinovorans consists of 165 ORF's related mainly to nicotine degradation, uptake and utilization of carbohydrates, amino acids and sarcosine. A putative sugar catabolic pathway consisting of 11 ORF's organized as a single operon were previously described. The current work brings experimental data supporting the existence of a D-Xylose catabolic pathway on the pAO1 megaplasmid. When grown on D-xylose containing media, the cells harboring the pAO1 megaplasmid grow to higher cell densities and also express the OxRe protein coded by the megaplasmid. A putative pathway similar to Weimberg pentose pathway is postulated, in which D-xylose is transported in the cell by the ABC-type transport system and then transformed using the putative sugar-dehidrogenase OxRe to D-xylonate, which is further degrated to 2-ketoglutarate and integrated into the general metabolism of the cell