title: Bacterial metabolism of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetate.
abstract: 1. Two Pseudomonas strains isolated from soil metabolized 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetate (2,4-D) as sole carbon source in mineral salts liquid medium. 2. 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetate cultures of Pseudomonas I (Smith, 1954) contained 2,4-dichlorophenol, 2-chlorophenol, 3,5-dichlorocatechol and alpha-chloromuconate, the last as a major metabolite. 3. Dechlorination at the 4(p)-position of the aromatic ring must therefore take place at some stages before ring fission. 4. Pseudomonas N.C.I.B. 9340 (Gaunt, 1962) cultures metabolizing 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetate contained 2,4-dichloro-6-hydroxyphenoxyacetate, 2,4-dichlorophenol, 3,5-dichlorocatechol and an unstable compound, probably alphagamma-dichloromuconate. 5. Cell-free extracts of the latter organism grown in 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetate cultures contained an oxygenase that converted 3,5-dichlorocatechol into alphagamma-dichloromuconate, a chlorolactonase that in the presence of Mn(2+) ions converted the dichloromuconate into gamma-carboxymethylene-alpha-chloro-Delta(alphabeta)-butenolide, and a delactonizing enzyme that gave alpha-chloromaleylacetate from this lactone. 6. Pathways of metabolism of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetate are discussed.
mesh_terms: D015084:2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D000085:Acetates / Q000378:metabolism*; D002396:Catechols / Q000378:metabolism; D002712:Chlorides / Q000378:metabolism; D002845:Chromatography; D003377:Countercurrent Distribution; D006540:Herbicides / Q000378:metabolism*; D007535:Isomerases; D008345:Manganese; D010105:Oxygenases; D010636:Phenols / Q000378:metabolism*; D011549:Pseudomonas / Q000378:metabolism*; D013057:Spectrum Analysis; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays
chemical_list: D000085:Acetates; D002396:Catechols; D002712:Chlorides; D006540:Herbicides; D010636:Phenols; D015084:2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid; D008345:Manganese; D010105:Oxygenases; D007535:Isomerases