A consortium comprised of an engineered Escherichia
coli DH5α and a natural pentachlorophenol (PCP) degrader, Sphingobium
chlorophenolicum ATCC 39723, was assembled for degradation of hexachlorobenzene (HCB), a persistent organic pollutant. The engineered E. coli strain, harbouring a gene cassette (camA
+
camB
+
camC) that encodes the F87W/Y96F/L244A/V247L mutant of cytochrome P-450cam (CYP101), oxidised HCB to PCP. The resulting PCP was then further completely degraded by ATCC 39723. The results showed that almost 40 % of 4 μM HCB was ...