Degradation of chlorobenzenes by a strain of Acidovorax avenae isolated from a polluted aquifer

The aromatic-ring-hydroxylating dioxygenase (ARHDO) α-subunit gene core, encoding the catalytic site of the large subunit of chlorobenzene dioxygenase, was detected by PCR amplification and confirmed by DNA sequencing. These results suggest that the isolated strain of A. avenae could use a catabolic pathway, via ARHDO system, leading to the formation of chlorocatecols during the first steps of biodegradation, with further chloride release and subsequent paths that showed complete substrate consumption.