Growth of Rhodococcus opacus on mixtures of monohalogenated benzenes and phenols

The growth of Rhodococcus opacus GM-14 on mixtures of 2-chloro- and 2-bromophenol, of 4-chloro, 4-bromo-, and 4-iodophenol, and of chloro-, bromo-, and iodobenzenes was accompanied by consumption of the substrates and excretion of halogen ions to the medium. During the growth on monochlorophenols, the substrates were consumed sequentially in the following order: 4-chloro-, 3-chloro-, and then 2-chlorophenol. Chlorine ions were excreted in a two-phase manner in amounts comprising 79% of the theoretical yield. The diauxic growth of R. opacus GM-14 can be explained by the existence in this bacterium of two modified metabolic pathways for the ortho-cleavage of halogenated pyrocatechols. The first pathway included 4-halogeno- or dihalogenopyrocatechols as intermediates, whereas the second pathway included 3-halogenopyrocatechols.