Dehalogenation of diverse halogenated substrates by a highly enriched Dehalococcoides-containing culture derived from the contaminated mega-site in Bitterfeld.

An enrichment culture dominated by one type of Dehalococcoides sp. (83% of clones) was characterised. This culture, originally derived from contaminated groundwater from the area of Bitterfeld-Wolfen (Saxony-Anhalt, Germany), dehalogenates chlorinated ethenes to ethene.