Heiko Patzelt, Sultan Qaboos University, Al‐Khod, Sultanate of Oman
Published online: December 2007
DOI: 10.1002/9780470015902.a0000473
Although originally biogenic, most aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons are now xenobiotic to the environment. Some bioaccumulate and are potentially harmful. Most others are quickly degraded by specialized microorganisms under aerobic or anaerobic conditions.
Keywords: biodegradation; environmental biotechnology; alkane; benzene
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Figure 1. Structural classification of aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons.
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Figure 2. Pathways for the microbial degradation of aliphatic hydrocarbons under aerobic conditions.
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Figure 3. Pathways for the microbial degradation of aromatic hydrocarbons under aerobic conditions.
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Figure 4. Pathways for the microbial degradation of aliphatic hydrocarbons under anaerobic conditions.
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Figure 5. Pathways for the microbial degradation of aromatic hydrocarbons under anaerobic conditions.
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| References | |
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| Al-Mueini R, Al-Dalali M, Al-Amri IS and Patzelt H (2007) Hydrocarbon degradation at high salinity by a novel extremely halophilic actinomycete. Environmental Chemistry 4: 5–7. | |
| Boll M (2005) Key enzymes in the anaerobic aromatic metabolism catalysing Birch-like reductions. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta – Bioenergetics 1707: 34–50. | |
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| book Patzelt H (2005) "Hydrocarbon degradation under hypersaline conditions". In: Gunde-Cimerman N, Oren A and Plemenitas A (eds) Adaptation to Life at High Salt Concentrations in Archaea, Bacteria, and Eukarya, pp. 105–122. Berlin: Springer. | |
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| Further Reading | |
| Buckel W and Golding BT (2006) Radical enzymes in anaerobes. Annual Review of Microbiology 60: 27–49. | |
| ePath Centre of Documentation, Research and Experimentation on Accidental Water Pollution, http://www.cedre.fr/index_gb.html (verified on 1 August 2007). | |
| Heider J (2007) Adding handles to unhandy substrates: anaerobic hydrocarbon activation mechanisms. Current Opinion in Chemical Biology 11: 188–194. | |
| book Riser-Roberts E (1998) Remediation of Petroleum Contaminated Soil. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press. | |
| ePath The Association for Environmental Health and Science, Total Petroleum Hydrocarbon Working Group, http://www.aehs.com/publications/catalog/contents/tph.htm (verified on 1 August 2007). | |
| ePath United Nations Environment Programme, Global Marine Oil Pollution Information Gateway, http://oils.gpa.unep.org/facts/facts.htm (verified on 1 August 2007). | |
| ePath University of Minnesota Biocatalysis/Biodegradation Database, http://umbbd.msi.umn.edu/index.html (verified on 1 August 2007). | |
| Zhang C and Bennett GN (2005) Biodegradation of xenobiotics by anaerobic bacteria. Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology 67: 600–618. | |
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