Aromatic compounds, degradation microbial

Reinke, W., Microbial degradation of halogenated aromatic compounds, in Microbial Degradation of Organic Compounds, Gibson, D.T., Ed., Marcel Dekker, New York, 1984, pp. 319-360. 

Gibson DT, V Subramanian (1984) Microbial degradation of aromatic hydrocarbons. In Microbial degradation of organic compounds (Ed DT Gibson), pp. 181-252. Marcel Dekker Inc, New York. 

Fuchs G, MBS Mohame, U Alenschmidt, J Koch, A Lack, R Brackmann, C Lochmeyer, B Oswald (1994) Biochemistry of anaerobic biodegradation of aromatic compounds. In Biochemistry of Microbial Degradation (Ed C Ratledge), pp. 513-553. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands. 

Gibson, D.T. Microbial degradation of aromatic compounds. Science (Washington, DC), 161(3846) 1093-1097, 1968. 

Stepp, T.D., Camper, N.D., and Paynter, M.J.B. Anaerobic microbial degradation of selected 2.4-dihalogenated aromatic compounds, Pestle. Biochem. Physiol., 23(2) 256-260, 1985. 

Microbial degradation of biocides has been described by Hugo [72] who points out that soil organisms are able to break down substances such as phenols added as fumigants. He also reviewed the utilization by bacteria of aromatic compounds (including the preservatives cresol, phenol, benzoic acid and esters of 4-hydroxybenzoic acid). Several types of preservatives and disinfectants, such as the QACs (e.g. cetrimide, cetylpyridinium chloride, benzalkonium chloride), chlorhexidine and phenylethanol can also be inactivated. Significantly, this only occurs at concentrations well below inhibitory or in-use concentrations [33] and thus cannot be responsible for insusceptibility. A further comment about chlorhexidine is given below. 

Alternate pathways for the degradation of a substituted benzene, toluene. (Adapted from Rochkind, M.L., J.W. Blackburn, and G.S. Sayler. 1986. Microbial Decomposition of Chlorinated Aromatic Compounds. EPA/600/2-86/090.)... 

The chemical reactivity of simple heterocyclic aromatic compounds varies widely in electrophilic substitution reactions, thiophene is similar to benzene and pyridine is less reactive than benzene, while furan and pyrrole are susceptible to polymerization reactions conversely, pyridine is more readily susceptible than benzene to attack by nucleophilic reagents. These differences are to a considerable extent reflected in the susceptibility of these compounds and their benzo analogues to microbial degradation. In contrast to the almost universal dioxygenation reaction used for the bacterial degradation of aromatic hydrocarbons, two broad mechanisms operate for heterocyclic aromatic compounds ... 

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