Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Indigo biosynthesis by Comamonas sp. MQ

  • Original Research Paper
  • Published:
Biotechnology Letters Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

An indigo-producing strain was isolated from activated sludge and identified as Comamonas sp. based on 16S rRNA analysis. It produced indigo at 26.5 mg/l with a conversion of indole to indigo of 47%. Indole at 50 mg/l plus 200 mg naphthalene/l gave 32.2 mg indigo/l with a 58% conversion. A pathway for indigo formation is proposed. This is the first study of indigo biosynthesis by Comamonas sp.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Bechtold T, Turcanu A, Geissler S, Ganglberger E (2002) Process balance and product quality in the production of natural indigo from Polygonum tinctorium Ait. applying low-technology methods. Bioresour Technol 81:171–177

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bhushan B, Samanta SK, Jain RK (2000) Indigo production by naphthalene-degrading bacteria. Lett Appl Microbiol 31:5–9

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Doukyu N, Aono R (1997) Biodegradation of indole at high concentration by persolvent fermentation with Pseudomonas sp. ST-200. Extremophiles 1:100–105

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ensley BD, Ratzkin BJ, Osslund TD, Simon MJ, Wackett LP, Gibson DT (1983) Expression of naphthalene oxidation genes in Escherichia coli results in the biosynthesis of indigo. Science 222:167–169

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gray PMM (1928) The formation of indigotin from indole by soil bacteria. Proc Roy Soc Lond Ser B 102:263–280

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Han GH, Bang SE, Babu BK, Chang M, Shin H, Kim SW (2011) Bio-indigo production in two different fermentation systems using recombinant Escherichia coli cells harboring a flavin-containing monooxygenase gene (fmo). Process Biochem 46:788–791

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • McClay K, Boss C, Keresztes I, Steffan RJ (2005) Mutations of toluene-4-monooxygenase that alter regiospecificity of indole oxidation and lead to production of novel indigoid pigments. Appl Environ Microbiol 71:5476–5483

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Meyer A, Würsten M, Schmid A, Kohler HP, Witholt B (2002) Hydroxylation of indole by laboratory-evolved 2-hydroxybiphenyl 3-monooxygenase. J Biol Chem 277:34161–34167

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Murdock D, Ensley BD, Serdar C, Thalen M (1993) Construction of metabolic operons catalyzing the de novo biosynthesis of indigo in Escherichia coli. Biotechnology 11:381–386

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • O’Connor KE, Hartmans S (1998) Indigo formation by aromatic hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria. Biotechnol Lett 20:219–223

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • O’Connor KE, Dobson ADW, Hartmans S (1997) Indigo formation by microorganisms expressing styrene monooxygenase activity. Appl Environ Microbiol 63:4287–4291

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Qu YY, Pi WQ, Ma F, Zhou JT, Zhang XW (2010) Influence and optimization of growth substrates on indigo formation by a novel isolate Acinetobacter sp. PP-2. Bioresour Technol 101:4527–4532

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 21176040, 51078054 and 20923006), and the Open Project of State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology (No. QAK201009) for their financial supports. We also thank the EssayStar Company (http:www.//essaystar.com/) for their English language editing.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Fine Chemicals, Key Laboratory of Industrial Ecology and Environmental Engineering (Ministry of Education, China), School of Environmental Science and Technology, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, 116024, People’s Republic of China

    Yuanyuan Qu, Xuwang Zhang, Qiao Ma, Qiang Zhang, Xinliang Li, Hao Zhou & Jiti Zhou

  2. State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, 150090, People’s Republic of China

    Fang Ma

Authors
  1. Yuanyuan Qu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Xuwang Zhang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Qiao Ma
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Fang Ma
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Qiang Zhang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Xinliang Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Hao Zhou
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Jiti Zhou
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Fang Ma.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary material 1 (DOC 1352 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Qu, Y., Zhang, X., Ma, Q. et al. Indigo biosynthesis by Comamonas sp. MQ. Biotechnol Lett 34, 353–357 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10529-011-0778-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10529-011-0778-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation