Chloromethane

Methyl chloride is a crucial reagent in industrial chemistry, although it is rarely present in consumer products, and was formerly utilized as a refrigerant. Most chloromethane is biogenic. Chloromethane is an abundant organohalogen, anthropogenic or natural, in the atmosphere. Natural sources produce an estimated 4,100,000,000 kg/yr. Laboratory cultures of marine phytoplankton (Phaeodactylum tricornutum, Phaeocystis sp., Thalassiosira weissflogii, Chaetoceros calcitrans, Isochrysis sp., Porphyridium sp., Synechococcus sp., Tetraselmis sp., Prorocentrum sp., and Emiliana huxleyi) produce CH3Cl, but in relatively insignificant amounts. An extensive study of 30 species of polar macroalgae revealed the release of significant amounts of CH3Cl in only Gigartina skottsbergii and Gymnogongrus antarcticus. The salt marsh plant Batis maritima contains the enzyme methyl chloride transferase that catalyzes the synthesis of CH3Cl from S-adenosine-L-methionine and chloride. This protein has been purified and expressed in E. coli, and seems to be present in other organisms such as white rot fungi (Phellinus pomaceus), red algae (Endocladia muricata), and the ice plant (Mesembryanthemum crystallinum), each of which is a known CH3Cl producer.