Metabolism of pentachlorophenol (PCP) by soil microorganisms

The disappearance of pentachlorophenol (PCP) in moist soil is the decomposition in which microorganisms take part, which is the aerobic oxidation accompanied by the rapid cleavage of the benzene ring. Microorganism Pseudomonas sp. using PCP as its carbon source was isolated from the soil. It hydroxylates PCP at the ortho and para positions, then metabolizes the product with the cleavage of the benzen ring. Microorganism Mycobacterium sp. Which methylates and inactivates PCP was isolated from the soil. It hydroxylates PCP at the ortho and para positions, and further methylates the resulting divalent phenol. The methylation of PCP by Mycobacterium sp. is biological methylation reaction, which is the reaction in which a transmethylation enzyme with S-adenosylmethionine as the methyl group donor takes part. (Mori, K.)