Conversion of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa Quinolone Signal and Related Alkylhydroxyquinolines by Rhodococcus sp. Strain BG43

A bacterial strain, which based on the sequences of its 16S rRNA, gyrB, catA, and qsdA genes, was identified as a Rhodococcus sp. closely related to Rhodococcus erythropolis, was isolated from soil by enrichment on the Pseudomonas quinolone signal [PQS; 2-heptyl-3-hydroxy-4(1H)-quinolone], a quorum sensing signal employed by the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The isolate, termed Rhodococcus sp. strain BG43, cometabolically degraded PQS and its biosynthetic precursor 2-heptyl-4(1H)-quinolone (HHQ) to anthranilic acid. HHQ degradation was accompanied by transient formation of PQS, and HHQ hydroxylation by cell extracts required NADH, indicating that strain BG43 has a HHQ monooxygenase isofunctional to the biosynthetic enzyme PqsH of P. aeruginosa. The enzymes catalyzing HHQ hydroxylation and PQS degradation were inducible by PQS, suggesting a specific pathway. Remarkably, Rhodococcus sp. BG43 is also capable of transforming 2-heptyl-4-hydroxyquinoline-N-oxide to PQS. It thus converts an antibacterial secondary metabolite of P. aeruginosa to a quorum sensing signal molecule.