Background#R##N#The genetic network of the TOL plasmid pWW0 of the soil bacterium Pseudomonas putida mt-2 for catabolism of m-xylene is an archetypal model for environmental biodegradation of aromatic pollutants. Although nearly every metabolic and transcriptional component of this regulatory system is known to an extraordinary molecular detail, the complexity of its architecture is still perplexing. To gain an insight into the inner layout of this network a logic model of the TOL system was implemented, simulated and experimentally validated. This analysis made sense of the specific regulatory topology out on the basis of an unprecedented network motif around which the entire genetic circuit for m-xylene catabolism gravitates.
['Rafael Silva-Rocha', 'Hidde de Jong', 'Javier Tamames', 'Víctor de Lorenzo']
The logic layout of the TOL network of Pseudomonas putida pWW0 plasmid stems from a metabolic amplifier motif (MAM) that optimizes biodegradation of m-xylene