In the leaves of a cherry tree (Prunus spp.), a glucoside of o-coumarate is accumulated, which is a precursor of coumarin. In this study, we explored coumarin-degrading microorganisms around cherry trees and their metabolism of coumarin. As a result, thirty microorganisms were isolated from the samples collected around cherry trees by using coumarin-containing media and were identified as Pseudomonas spp. or Klebsiella spp. by 16S rRNA partial sequence comparison. Furthermore, we analyzed the metabolism of coumarin and other agrochemicals by Pseudomonas sp., which was isolated from excrement of a larva of Hyphantria cunea. The isolate showed a higher coumarin-degrading activity to give two novel metabolites (A and B). By using LC-ESI/HRMS and NMR, metabolite A and B were revealed to be melilotic acid and its mono-oxidized derivative, respectively. We have cloned a flavin-monooxygenase gene from an area of the Pseudomonas genome, where a cluster of the coumarin-degrading enzyme genes was found.

Coumarin metabolism by isolated microorganisms from cherry trees

248th National Meeting (2014)

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