ADVANCES ON MICROBIAL DEGRADATION OF POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS (PAHs) IN MARINE ENVRIONMENT

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are considered hazardous because of cytotoxic, mutagenic, and carcinogenic effects. The fates of these compounds in the marine environment and the remediation of PAH-contaminated sites are, therefore, of high public interest. The principle processes for their successful removal are currently believed to be microbial transformation and degradation. Microorganisms have a huge metabolic repertoire that enables them to degrade a panoply of organic pollutants and in many cases the complex biochemistry and molecular biology of the catabolic pathways involved have been unraveled. This review provides some advance on the microbial degradation of PAHs. Studies are presented on the genetics of PAHs degradation pathways and the application of genes. Molecular oxygens is essential for the initial PAHs by microorganisms. The cometabolism mechanisms of PAHs and the achievements on the PAHs cometabolism degradation are discussed. The degradation of most PAHs with high molecular weight is carried out by means of cometabolism. Fig 2, Ref 46