Metabolic pathways for degradation of aromatic hydrocarbons by bacteria

The aim of this revision was to build an updated collection of information focused on the mechanisms and elements involved in metabolic pathways of aromatic hydrocarbons by bacteria. Enzymes as an expression of the genetic load and the type of electron acceptor available, as an environmental factor, were highlighted. In general, the review showed that both aerobic routes and anaerobic routes for the degradation of aromatic hydrocarbons are divided into two pathways. The first, named the upper pathways, from the original compound to central intermediate compounds still containing the aromatic ring but with the benzene nucleus chemically destabilized. The second, named the lower pathway, begins with ring de-aromatização and subsequent cleavage, resulting in metabolites that can be used by bacteria in the production of biomass. Under anaerobic conditions the five mechanisms of activation of the benzene ring described show the diversity of chemical reactions that take place. Obtaining carbon and energy from an aromatic hydrocarbon molecule is a process that exhibits the high complexity level of the metabolic apparatus of anaerobic microorganisms. The ability of these bacteria to express enzymes that catalyze reactions, known only in non-biological conditions, using final electron acceptors with a low redox potential, is a most interesting topic. The discovery of phylogenetic and functional characteristics of cultivable and non-cultivable hydrocarbon degrading bacteria has been made possible by improvements in molecular research techniques such as SIP (stable isotope probing) making trace of 13C, 15N and 18O into nucleic acids and proteins.