This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Carmona, M.
Right arrow Articles by Díaz, E.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Carmona, M.
Right arrow Articles by Díaz, E.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews, March 2009, p. 71-133, Vol. 73, No. 1
1092-2172/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/MMBR.00021-08
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Anaerobic Catabolism of Aromatic Compounds: a Genetic and Genomic View

Manuel Carmona, María Teresa Zamarro, Blas Blázquez, Gonzalo Durante-Rodríguez, Javier F. Juárez, J. Andrés Valderrama, María J. L. Barragán,{dagger} José Luis García, and Eduardo Díaz*

Department of Molecular Microbiology, Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 28040 Madrid, Spain

Summary: Aromatic compounds belong to one of the most widely distributed classes of organic compounds in nature, and a significant number of xenobiotics belong to this family of compounds. Since many habitats containing large amounts of aromatic compounds are often anoxic, the anaerobic catabolism of aromatic compounds by microorganisms becomes crucial in biogeochemical cycles and in the sustainable development of the biosphere. The mineralization of aromatic compounds by facultative or obligate anaerobic bacteria can be coupled to anaerobic respiration with a variety of electron acceptors as well as to fermentation and anoxygenic photosynthesis. Since the redox potential of the electron-accepting system dictates the degradative strategy, there is wide biochemical diversity among anaerobic aromatic degraders. However, the genetic determinants of all these processes and the mechanisms involved in their regulation are much less studied. This review focuses on the recent findings that standard molecular biology approaches together with new high-throughput technologies (e.g., genome sequencing, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metagenomics) have provided regarding the genetics, regulation, ecophysiology, and evolution of anaerobic aromatic degradation pathways. These studies revealed that the anaerobic catabolism of aromatic compounds is more diverse and widespread than previously thought, and the complex metabolic and stress programs associated with the use of aromatic compounds under anaerobic conditions are starting to be unraveled. Anaerobic biotransformation processes based on unprecedented enzymes and pathways with novel metabolic capabilities, as well as the design of novel regulatory circuits and catabolic networks of great biotechnological potential in synthetic biology, are now feasible to approach.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Departamento de Microbiología Molecular, Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Ramiro de Maeztu 9, 28040 Madrid, Spain. Phone: 34-918373112. Fax: 34-915360432. E-mail: ediaz{at}cib.csic.es

{dagger} Present address: NIAID-NIH, TW3-Twinbrook III, 3E20, 12735 Twinbrook Pkwy., Rockville, MD.

Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews, March 2009, p. 71-133, Vol. 73, No. 1
1092-2172/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/MMBR.00021-08
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Kung, J. W., Loffler, C., Dorner, K., Heintz, D., Gallien, S., Van Dorsselaer, A., Friedrich, T., Boll, M. (2009). Identification and characterization of the tungsten-containing class of benzoyl-coenzyme A reductases. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 106: 17687-17692 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»