Current Status of and Future Perspectives in Bacterial Degradation of Benzo[a]pyrene

Alexis Nzila and Musa M. Musa
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Alexis Nzila: Department of Life Sciences, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia
Musa M. Musa: Department of Chemistry, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 18, issue 1, 1-24

Abstract: Benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) is one the main pollutants belonging to the high-molecular-weight PAHs (HMW-PAHs) class and its degradation by microorganisms remains an important strategy for its removal from the environment. Extensive studies have been carried out on the isolation and characterisation of microorganisms that can actively degrade low-molecular-weight PAHs (LMW-PAHs), and to a certain extent, the HMW-PAH pyrene. However, so far, limited work has been carried out on BaP biodegradation. BaP consists of five fused aromatic rings, which confers this compound a high chemical stability, rendering it less amenable to biodegradation. The current review summarizes the emerging reports on BaP biodegradation. More specifically, work carried out on BaP bacterial degradation and current knowledge gaps that limit our understanding of BaP degradation are highlighted. Moreover, new avenues of research on BaP degradation are proposed, specifically in the context of the development of “omics” approaches.

Keywords: benzo[a]pyrene; biodegradation; co-metabolism; bioaugmentation; catabolic pathways; omics; functional metagenomics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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