Steroid degradation genes of Comamonas testosteroni TA441 are encoded in at least two gene clusters: one containing the meta-cleavage enzyme gene tesB and ORF1, 2, 3; and another consisting of ORF18, 17, tes1, H, A2, and tesA1, D, E, F, G (tesA2 to ORF18 and tesA1 to tesG are encoded in opposite directions). Analysis of transposon mutants with low steroid degradation revealed 13 ORFs and a gene (ORF4, 5 21, 22, 23, 25, 26, 27, 28, 30 31, 32 33, and tesR) involved in steroid degradation in the downstream region of ORF3. TesR, which is almost identical to that of TeiR, a positive regulator of Delta(1)-dehydrogenase (corresponds to TesH in TA441) and 3alpha-dehydrogenase (currently not identified in TA441), in C. testosteroni ATCC11996 (Pruneda-Paz, 2004), was shown to be necessary for induction of the steroid degradation gene clusters identified in TA441, tesB to tesR, tesAI to tesG, and tesA2 to ORF18. At least some of the ORFs from ORF3 to ORF33 were suggested to be involved in 9,17-dioxo-1,2,3,4,10,19-hexanorandrostan-5-oic acid degradation. (C) 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.