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Which kinds of organisms naturally produce organohalogen compounds?

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organohalogen compound Vinyl chloride is an organohalogen compound that has important industrial applications. When treated with certain catalysts, vinyl chloride monomers undergo polymerization and form the larger compound known as polyvinyl chloride, or PVC. PVC is used in the manufacture of numerous products, including packaging films and water pipes.

Organohalogen compounds are produced naturally by a wide variety of organisms, including plants, fungi, bacteria, and various marine organisms.1

Marine environments are particularly significant sources of these compounds. Marine algae and kelp produce vast quantities of substances like chloromethane, and virtually every marine plant assayed has been found to produce organohalogens. For example, the Hawaiian red seaweed Asparagopsis taxiformis is known to contain more than 50 different organohalogen compounds.2

On land, fungi are notable contributors to the production of these compounds. Additionally, certain bacteria, such as Streptomyces venezuelae, produce the antibiotic chloramphenicol. While fluorine-containing natural products are relatively rare, they can be found in specific plants, such as the South African Dichapetalum cymosum, which produces toxic fluoroacetic acid. In total, more than 2,000 naturally occurring organohalogen compounds have been identified across these diverse biological sources.21