Abstract
The clcD structural gene encodes dienelactone hydrolase (EC 3.1.1.45), an enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of dienelactones to maleylacetate. The gene is part of the clc gene cluster involved in the utilization of chlorocatechol and is carried on a 4.3-kilobase-pair BglII fragment subcloned from the Pseudomonas degradative plasmid pAC27. A 1.9-kilobase-pair PstI-EcoRI segment subcloned from the BglII fragment was shown to carry the clcD gene, which was expressed inducibly under the tac promoter at levels similar to those found in 3-chlorobenzoate-grown Pseudomonas cells carrying the plasmid pAC27. In this study, we present the complete nucleotide sequence of the clcD gene and the amino acid sequence of dienelactone hydrolase deduced from the DNA sequence. The NH2-terminal amino acid sequence encoded by the clcD gene from plasmid pAC27 corresponds to a 33-residue sequence established for dienelactone hydrolase encoded by the Pseudomonas sp. strain B13 plasmid pWR1. A possible relationship between the clcD gene and pcaD, a Pseudomonas putida chromosomal gene encoding enol-lactone hydrolase (EC 3.1.1.24) is suggested by the fact that the gene products contain an apparently conserved pentapeptide neighboring a cysteinyl side chain that presumably lies at or near the active sites; the cysteinyl residue occupies position 60 in the predicted amino acid sequence of dienelactone hydrolase.