Degradation of Alpha-, Beta-, and Gamma-Hexachlorocyclohexane by a Soil Bacterium under Aerobic Conditions.

A Pseudomonas sp., isolated from sugarcane rhizosphere soil, readily metabolized not only alpha and gamma isomers of hexachlorocyclohexane, but also the thermodynamically more stable beta isomer, under aerobic conditions. Bacterial degradation of the three isomers led to the accumulation of a transitory metabolite and eventual release of covalently linked chlorine as chloride in stoichiometric amounts.