Rhodococcus sp. strain T104, which is able to grow on either biphenyl or limonene, was found to utilize phenol as sole carbon and energy sources. Furthermore, T104 was positively identified to possess three separate pathways for the degradation of limonene, phenol, and biphenyl. The fact that biphenyl and limonene induced almost the same amount of catechol 1,2-dioxygenase activity indicates that limonene can induce both upper and lower pathways for biphenyl degradation by T104.