Anaerobic dehalogenation of hydroxylated polychlorinated biphenyls by Desulfitobacterium dehalogenans.
Ten years after reports on the existence of anaerobic dehalogenation of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in sediment slurries, we report here on the rapid reductive dehalogenation of para-hydroxylated PCBs (HO-PCBs), the excreted main metabolites of PCB in mammals, which can exhibit estrogenic and antiestrogenic activities in humans. The anaerobic bacterium Desulfitobacterium dehalogenans completely dehalogenates all flanking chlorines (chlorines in ortho position to the para-hydroxyl group) from congeners such as 3,3',5, 5'-tetrachloro-4,4'-dihydroxybiphenyl.
Wiegel
J
J
Department of Microbiology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602, USA. jwiegen@arches.uga.edu
Zhang
X
X
Wu
Q
Q
D000818:Animals; D001421:Bacteria, Anaerobic / Q000378:metabolism*; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D004965:Estrogen Antagonists / Q000378:metabolism; D004968:Estrogens, Non-Steroidal / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D006900:Hydroxylation; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000378:metabolism
D004965:Estrogen Antagonists; D004968:Estrogens, Non-Steroidal; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls