The present work investigates the possibility that temperature could regulate the pattern of transformation of 2,4'-chlorobiphenyl (2,4'-CB) by psychrotolerant Hydrogenophaga sp. IA3-A.Transformation of 2,4'-chlorobiphenyl to 2- and 4-chlorobenzoic acid (2- and 4-CBA), and meta-cleavage products by cells of strain IA3-A incubated at 10 degrees C, 25 degrees C, 37 degrees C or 45 degrees C were monitored by UV spectrometry, HPLC and GC-MS analyses. Cultures incubated at 10 degrees C, 25 degrees C or 37 degrees C produced low amounts of CBAs and excess levels of meta-cleavage products from 2,4'-CB. Cultures incubated at 45 degrees C transformed most of the degraded 2,4'-CB to CBAs and low level of meta-cleavage product. Culture extracts contained unusual varieties of isomeric hydroxylated metabolic products.Efficient transformation of 2,4'-CB to CBAs was possible in cultures incubated at 45 degrees C. Evidence for the involvement of multiple pathways in the transformation of 2,4'-CB in strain IA3-A suggests that differential regulation of the pathways at different temperatures was likely responsible for the change in the pattern of transformation of 2,4'-CB in cultures incubated at 45 degrees C.It may be possible to condition cells to transform chlorinated biphenyls more efficiently without accumulating excess level of toxic intermediates.
