Probing the proteome response to toluene exposure in Pseudomonas putida

Abstract

The toxic effects of organic solvents are a major drawback for their application in biotechnology and for the production of fine chemicals by whole-cell bioconversion and biotransformation. However, through the isolation of some microbial strains, like P. putida S12, which tolerate high concentrations of organic solvents, several limitations of organic solvents in biotechnology can be overcome. Although P. putida S12 has been studied for a long time with different functional genomics techniques, the molecular mechanisms that underlie the principles of solvent tolerance are not fully understood. The objective of this Ph.D. study was to identify and to characterize the proteins of P. putida S12 and P. putida KT2440 involved in tolerance towards toluene. The characterization of the P. putida proteome upon exposure to the organic solvent toluene revealed a well coordinated response, with an interplay between decreased permeability of the cell envelope and increased efflux pump activity.