| The triphenylmethane dye malachite green is widely used in industrial and agricultural settings in many countries due to its effectiveness and low cost. However, the United States has labeled it a possible carcinogen and banned its use. Previous studies have showed that intestinal bacteria have the ability to degrade malachite green to leucomalachite green, a colorless and less toxic form. Furthermore, the enzyme triphenylmethane reductase (TMR) from Citrobacter sp. Strain KCTC18061P has been purified and demonstrated to catalyze the decolorization. In this study, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 29213 was shown to degrade malachite green rapidly without the detection of leucomalachite green. Genetic analysis indicated the open reading frame mw0381 in S. aureus subsp. aureus MW2 had a similar dinucleotide binding motif as TMR. Cloning of mv0381 from S. aureus ATCC 29213 and its overexpression in Escherichia coli BL21(DE3) confirmed it increased the capacity of the host cell to decolorize malachite green. Since leucomalachite green was not detected, it is possible an undefined mechanism might exist in S. aureus ATCC 29213 which is responsible for the degradation of malachite green. |
