Cometabolism of 1,1-Dichloro-2,2-Bis(4-Chlorophenyl)Ethylene by Pseudomonas acidovorans M3GY Grown on Biphenyl

1,1-Dichloro-2,2-bis(4-chlorophenyl)ethylene (DDE), a toxic breakdown product of 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(4-chlorophenyl)ethane (DDT), has traditionally been viewed as a dead-end metabolite: there are no published reports detailing enzymatic ring fission of DDE by bacteria in either soil or pure culture. In this study, we investigated the ability of Pseudomonas acidovorans M3GY to transform DDE and its unchlorinated analog, 1,1-diphenylethylene (DPE). While strain M3GY could grow on DPE, cells grown on DPE as a sole carbon source could not degrade DDE. Cells grown on biphenyl, however, did degrade DDE. Mass balance analysis of [(14)C]DDE showed transformation of more than 40% of the recoverable radioactivity. Nine chlorinated metabolites produced from DDE were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry–Fourier-transform infrared spectrometry (GC-MS-FTIR) from cultures grown on biphenyl. Recovery of these metabolites demonstrates that biphenyl-grown cells degrade DDE through a meta-fission pathway. This study provides a possible model for biodegradation of DDE in soil by biphenyl-utilizing bacteria.