Aerobic mineralization of 4,4′-dichlorobiphenyl and 4-chlorobenzoic acid by a novel natural bacterial strain that grows poorly on benzoate and biphenyl

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Achromobacter xylosoxidans strain IR08 was isolated from soil contaminated with electrical transformer fluid by enrichment culture containing Aroclor 1221 as the sole carbon source. This strain was found to grow on all monochlorobiphenyls, 4,4'-dichlorobiphenyl (4,4'-diCB) and a wide range of other xenobiotic compounds. During growth on 4,4'-diCB, a near-stoichiometric amount of chloride was excreted into the culture fluid in less than 5 days and growth yield was more than twice that achieved on biphenyl. The production of 4-CBA or chlorocatechol as a metabolite was not observed. Quite unusually, coincubation of strain IR08 with 4,4'-diCB and biphenyl at relatively equal concentrations showed preferential utilization of the chlorobiphenyl: 4,4'-diCB was mineralized in less than 5 days concomitant with stoichiometric release of chloride, while biphenyl was poorly degraded. Growth on 2.5 mM CBA also resulted in complete disappearance of the substrate, however, inorganic chloride recovered from the culture broth was less than 65%. The isolation of a dichlorobiphenyl-mineralizing rather than transformation strain such as IR08 is an important advance in an effort to develop effective bioremediation strategy for polychlorinated biphenyl-contaminated soil.