Characterization of the propham biodegradation pathway in Starkeya sp. strain YW6 and cloning of a novel amidase gene mmH

We previously isolated a monocrotophos-degrading strain Starkeya sp. YW6, which could also degrade propham. Here, we show that strain YW6 metabolizes propham via a pathway in which propham is initially hydrolyzed to aniline and then converted to catechol, which is then oxidized via an ortho-cleavage pathway. The novel amidase gene mmH was cloned from strain YW6 and expressed in Escherichia coli BL21(DE3). MmH, which exhibits aryl acylamidase activity, was purified for enzymatic analysis. Bioinformatic analysis confirmed that MmH belongs to the amidase signature (AS) enzyme family and shares 26–50% identity with several AS family members. MmH (molecular mass of 53 kDa) was most active at 40 °C and pH 8.0 and showed high activity toward propham, with Kcat and Km values of 33.4 s–1 and 16.9 μM, respectively. These characteristics make MmH suitable for novel amide biosynthesis and environmental remediation.