Bacillus cereus strain 10-L-2 produces two arylamine N-acetyltransferases that transform 4-phenylenediamine into 4-aminoacetanilide

A bacterium, strain 10-L-2, that was isolated from soil and identified as Bacillus cereus grew well on medium containing 4-phenylenediamine and Polypepton. Strain 10-L-2 converted a wide variety of anilines, including 4-phenylenediamine, to their corresponding acetanilides. Growing cells acetylated a single amino group of 4-phenylenediamine to form 4-aminoacetanilide with a 97% molar yield, as shown by mass spectrometry and HPLC. Cell extracts exhibited arylamine N-acetyltransferase (NAT) activity toward 4-phenylenediamine. Two NATs, namely, NAT-a and NAT-b, were separated by DE52 column chromatography and were further purified and characterized. The subunit molecular masses of NAT-a and NAT-b were 31.0 and 27.5 kDa, respectively, as determined by SDS–PAGE analysis. The two enzymes had similar pH- and thermo-stabilities and were similarly affected by pH, temperature, and several reagents. The enzymes showed peak activity toward 5-aminosalicylic acid of the substrates tested, but they differed in substrate specificity. Only NAT-a had activity toward sulfamethazine. Although other wild-type bacterial cultures also synthesize NAT, the ability of strain 10-L-2 to convert and detoxify 4-phenylenediamine is much higher. This report provides the first evidence of two NATs in a eubacterium.