A Genomic Analysis of Anaerobic Aromatic Degradation
Abstract
The anaerobic degradation of aromatic compounds is important for environmental bioremediation because substantial amounts of toxic aromatic compounds are produced industrially and make their way into anoxic groundwaters and sediments. Although the biodegradation of aromatic compounds under anaerobic conditions has great practical significance, investigators have studied the degradation of only a very few different kinds of aromatics. In this era of microbial genomics it is now technically possible to take a comprehensive look at the complete biodegradation potential of an individual microbial species. The purple nonsulfur phototrophic bacterium Rhodopseudomonas palustris is an ideal organism for this. Its genome has recently been completely sequenced and it can be manipulated genetically. R. palustris also has great metabolic versatility and can grow on many different kinds of aromatic compounds. In the project period we have completed and published our description of the R. palustris genome sequence. We have completed a study of the lower pathway of benzoate degradation, characterized an enzyme involved in chloroaromatic degradation and initiated studies of the degradation of a green plant associated compound: 4-hydroxycinnamate.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 26, 2004
- Accession Number
- ADA426008
Entities
People
- Caroline S. Harwood
Organizations
- University of Iowa