title: Microbial dehalogenation of trichloroacetic acid.
abstract: A pure bacterial culture and a two-membered mixed culture were isolated that degraded trichloroacetic acid if a second, readily metabolizable substrate was present in the growth medium. Previous doubts over the microbial dehalogenation of trichloroacetic acid (TCA) may be due to its inability to act as a sole carbon and energy source. TCA dehalogenation was associated with conventional 2-haloalkanoic acid dehalogenases but oxalate, the putative dehalogenase product, was not detected. CO2 was produced rapidly and concomitantly with Cl(-) ion release during dehalogenation of TCA. An alternative mechanism is suggested for TCA dehalogenation via an initial decarboxylation reaction. This mechanism predicts that carbon monoxide is a product of TCA decarboxylation and it was significant that one of the organisms isolated,Pseudomonas carboxydohydrogens, was a carboxytroph and a second was an unidentified facultative methylotroph.
authors.affiliation: School of Pure and Applied Biology, University of Wales, Cardiff, PO Box 915, CF1 3TL, Cardiff, UK.
authors.forename: A L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Weightman
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Weightman
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Slater