Glutathione is the reducing agent for the reductive dehalogenation of tetrachloro-p-hydroquinone by extracts from a Flavobacterium sp@

Tetrachloro- p -hydroquinone is the first intermediate during pentachlorophenol degradation by Flavobacterium sp. strain ATCC 39723, a strict aerobe. We report here that tetrachlorohydroquinone was reductively dehalogenated to 2,3,6-trichloro- p -hydroquinone and subsequently to 2,6-dichloro- p -hydroquinone under anaerobic conditions by the cell extract from Flavobacterium . The reducing agent was identified to be the reduced form of glutathione. This is the first time glutathione has been identified as the reducing agent for reductive dehalogenation.