Bacterial Degradation of Aromatic Compounds

Jong-Su Seo, Young-Soo Keum and Qing X. Li
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Jong-Su Seo: Department of Molecular Biosciences and Bioengineering, University of Hawaii, 1955 East-West Road, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
Young-Soo Keum: Department of Molecular Biosciences and Bioengineering, University of Hawaii, 1955 East-West Road, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
Qing X. Li: Department of Molecular Biosciences and Bioengineering, University of Hawaii, 1955 East-West Road, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA

IJERPH, 2009, vol. 6, issue 1, 1-32

Abstract: Aromatic compounds are among the most prevalent and persistent pollutants in the environment. Petroleum-contaminated soil and sediment commonly contain a mixture of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and heterocyclic aromatics. Aromatics derived from industrial activities often have functional groups such as alkyls, halogens and nitro groups. Biodegradation is a major mechanism of removal of organic pollutants from a contaminated site. This review focuses on bacterial degradation pathways of selected aromatic compounds. Catabolic pathways of naphthalene, fluorene, phenanthrene, fluoranthene, pyrene, and benzo[ a ]pyrene are described in detail. Bacterial catabolism of the heterocycles dibenzofuran, carbazole, dibenzothiophene, and dibenzodioxin is discussed. Bacterial catabolism of alkylated PAHs is summarized, followed by a brief discussion of proteomics and metabolomics as powerful tools for elucidation of biodegradation mechanisms.

Keywords: Bioremediation; biodegradation; PAHs; polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2009
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

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