Methyl chloride metabolism of the strictly anaerobic, methyl chloride-utilizing homoacetogen strain MC

Abstract

The methyl chloride metabolism of the homoacetogenic, methyl chloride-utilizing strain MC was investigated with cell extracts and cell suspensions of the organism. Cell extracts were found to contain all enzyme activities required for the conversion of methyl chloride or of H2 plus CO2 to acetate. They catalyzed the dechlorination of methyl chloride with tetrahydrofolate as the methyl acceptor at a rate of ∼20 nmol/min × mg of cell protein. Also, the O-demethylation of vanillate with tetrahydrofolate could be measured at a rate of 40 nmol/min × mg. Different enzyme systems appeared to be responsible for the dehalogenation of CH3Cl and for the O-demethylation of methoxylated aromatic compounds, since cells grown with methoxylated aromatic compounds exhibited a significantly lower activity of CH3Cl conversion than methyl chloride grown cells and vice versa. In addition, ammonium thiocyanate (5 mM) completely inhibited CH3Cl dechlorination, whereas the consumption of vanillate was not affected significantly. The data were taken to indicate, that the methyl chloride dehalogenation is catalyzed by a specific, inducible enzyme present in strain MC, and that tetrahydrofolate rather than the corrinoid-protein involved in acetate formation is the primary acceptor of the methyl group in the dechlorination reaction.