The asymmetric reduction of 2-chloro-1-phenylethanone (1) by seven strains of marine fungi was evaluated and afforded (S)-(-)-2-chloro-1-phenylethanol with, in the best case, an enantiomeric excess of 50% and an isolated yield of 60%. The ability of marine fungi to catalyse the reduction was directly dependent on growth in artificial sea water-based medium containing a high concentration of Cl- (1.2 M). When fungi were grown in the absence of artificial sea water, no reduction of 1 by whole cells was observed. The biocatalytic reduction of 1 was more efficient at neutral rather than acidic pH values and in the absence of glucose as co-substrate. © 2009 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.311015591563Amidjojo, M., Weuster-Botz, D., Asymmetric synthesis of the chiral synthon ethyl (S)-4-chloro-3-hydroxybutanoate using Lactobacillus kefir (2005) Tetrahedron Asymm, 16, pp. 899-901Assumpção, R.M.V., Morita, T., Manual de soluções, reagentes e solvents, , 2nd edn. 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