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Biodegradation of
catechols by micro-organisms - A short review
Md. Zeyaullah1*, Azza S. Abdelkafe1,
Wafa Ben Zabya2 and Arif Ali3
Faculty of Medicine, Omar Al-Mukhtar University, Al-Baida,
Libya
1Department
of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Omar Al-Mukhtar
University, Al-Baida, Libya.
2Seventh
April University, Zawia, Libya.
3Department
of Biotechnology, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi- 110025,
India.
*Corresponding author. E-mail:
zeya786@gmail.com or
mdzeyaullah_biotech@rediffmail.com.
Accepted
15 April, 2009 |
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Many aromatic hydrocarbons and catechols are known to be
toxic and carcinogenic for humans, and their contamination
of soils and aquifers is of great environmental concern.
Soil microorganisms, like Pseudomonas spp. and
Mycobacterium, were found to be capable of transforming
and degrading toxic catechols to easily absorbable TCA
metabolites. These abilities may be useful in removal of
toxic organic compounds from the environment. The successful
application of microorganisms to the bioremediation of
contaminated sites requires a deeper understanding of how
microbial degradation proceeds. In this review, the
microorganisms involved and the metabolic pathways for the
degradation of many aromatic hydrocarbons are summarized and
the biological aspects of catechol bioremediation are
discussed.
Key
words:
Pseudomonas spp., catechol metabolic pathways,
microbial degradation, bioremediation. |
