Isolation and Characterization of Dehalogenases from2,2-Dichloropropionate-Degrading Soil Bacteria

Five bacterial strains were isolated from polluted soilscapable of degrading 2,2-dichloropropionate. In crude extracts, dehalogenaseactivity against haloacetates and longer-chained 2-haloalkanoic acids couldbe detected. Results from activity staining indicated that all bacterialstrains expressed a single dehalogenase. In further biochemicalcharacterization, two types of D,L-specific 2-haloalkanoic acid dehalogenaseswere described, which are different from each other not only in molecularweight and electrophoretic mobility, but also in sensitivity towards thiolreagents. Dehalogenases of these strains have been shown to be inducible andare catalyzing halide hydrolysis with inversion of product configuration.