MAPPING OF BEN GENES OF PSEUDOMONAS-AERUGINOSA

Four ben genes responsible for the conversion of benzoate to catechol in Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO have been mapped to a 4.6 kb KpnI fragment. ben-1 and ben-4 were known to be separate genes but now ben-1508 has been found to be different from ben-2. The two genes were distinguished by Tn5 mutagenesis of a cosmid clone and deletion mapping. It is likely that the four genes mapped (ben-4, ben-2, ben-1508 and ben-1) correspond to the previously characterized benR (regulatory gene) and benABC (benzoate dioxygenase) respectively.