Biodegradation of chlorinated paraffins and long-chain chloroalkanes by Rhodococcus sp. S45-1

A strain of the genus Rhodococcus, designated isolate S45-1, was isolated from an environmental water sample by enrichment, using the chlorinated paraffin Cereclor S45 as the sole carbon and energy source. This is the first report of microbial utilisation of chlorinated paraffins as sole source of carbon and energy. Biochemical studies of isolate S45-1 revealed little similarity with other Rhodococcus species. Isolate S45-1 was able to utilise 1-chloroalkanes of chain-length 12–18C as sole source of carbon and energy. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry of the reaction medium indicated that γ-butyrolactone was formed as a product of 1-chlorotetradecane metabolism.