Rhodococcus erythropolis TA421 was isolated from a termite ecosystem and is able to degrade a wide range of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners. Genetic and biochemical analyses of the PCB catabolic pathway of this organism revealed that there are four different bphC genes (bphC1, bphC2, bphC3, and bphC4) which encode 2,3-dihydroxybiphenyl dioxygenases. As determined by Southern hybridizat...

To assess the ca. 20-year polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contamination trends in Lake Hartwell, SC, sediment cores from the Twelve Mile Creek arm were collected in July 2004 at two sites (G30 and G33) first sampled in the mid-1980s. Congener-specific PCB data as a function of depth from the sediment-water interface for the 2004 sediment samples were compared to data obtained from 1987 and 1998 ...

Algae are sensitive to a wide range of pollutants, and are effective bioindicators in ecotoxicity assessments. Here, we evaluated the sub-lethal sensitivity of the marine dinoflagellate Cochlodinium polykrikoides upon exposure to copper (Cu), lead (Pb), bisphenol A (BPA), and Aroclor 1016 (polychlorinated biphenyl, PCB). Toxic effects were assessed by observations of the reduction in cell count...

Chronic low-level polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) exposures remain a significant public health concern since results from epidemiological studies indicate that PCB burden is associated with immune system dysfunction, cardiovascular disease, and impairment of the developing nervous system. Of these various adverse health effects, developmental neurotoxicity has emerged as a particularly vulnerabl...

Northern leopard frogs (Rana pipiens) were injected intraperitoneally either with a solution of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) 126 in corn oil at a concentration of 0.2, 0.7, 2.3, or 7.8 mg/kg body weight or with corn oil alone. Appropriate assay conditions with hepatic microsomes were determined for four cytochrome P450-associated monooxygenases: ethoxyresorufin-Odealkylase (EROD), methoxy-ROD...

Traditional and new relationships of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) distribution among the solid phases, the free aqueous phase, and biolipids are comprehensively reviewed using seven well-characterized freshwater and marine sediments polluted with PCBs. The traditional relationship relating free aqueous concentration and biolipid concentration to sediment total organic carbon, compound octanol...

A poplar planted system resulted in the complete removal of at least 19 of the 29 potential polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners detected in trace amounts (37.9 ng g-1 in total) in a commercial garden soil, while the unplanted soil only had 2 congeners completely removed after 96 days. In addition, the most recalcitrant congener, PCB 52, only decreased by 0.1% in the unplanted reactors whil...

Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners with multiple ortho chlorine substituents and their metabolites exist as stable rotational isomers, or atropisomers, that are nonsuperimposable mirror images of each other. Additionally, the oxidation of certain axially prochiral PCBs, such as 2,2',4,6'-tetrachlorobiphenyl (PCB 51) and 2,2',4,5,6'-pentachlorobiphenyl (PCB 102), in the meta position of th...

We recently demonstrated that polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners with multiple ortho chlorine substitutions sensitize ryanodine receptors (RyRs), and this activity promotes Ca²⁺-dependent dendritic growth in cultured neurons. Many ortho-substituted congeners display axial chirality, and we previously reported that the chiral congener PCB 136 (2,2',3,3',6,6'-hexachlorobiphenyl) atropselect...

BACKGROUND Previously, we reported an association between higher maternal polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) concentrations and smaller thymus volume in newborns in a birth cohort residing in eastern Slovakia. OBJECTIVE In the present report we address whether thymus volume at later ages is influenced by prenatal and early postnatal PCB exposure. METHODS At the time of delivery, 1,134 mother-in...