Biotransformation in plants

Shaner, D. L., Tede, B. Designing Herbicide Tolerance Based on Metabolic Alteration The Challenges and the Future, in Pesticide Biotransformation in Plants and Microorganisms, Hall, J. C., Hoagland, R. E., Zablotowicz, R. M. (Eds.) ACS Symposium Series 777, American Chemical Society, Washington, DC, 2001. 

Occasionally, biotransformation in the absence of substantial biodegradation may be acceptable. Dicyclopentadiene is produced pyrolytically in petrochemical plants and has a nauseating and penetrating odor. Although it could be degraded by a mixed bacterial culture, the major part was transformed into a series of oxygenated compounds that were presumed to be less malodorous (Stehmeier et al. 1996 Shen et al. 1998). 

The NM concentrations in U.S. and European influent are significantly less than the PCM concentrations and are in the range of 0.2-5 pg/L. MX and MK are the highest concentration NMs in influent [22]. In general, the amino metabolites of the nitromusks are not detected in influent because there is limited opportunity for biotransformation in transit to the wastewater treatment plants. 

Foley, W. J., McLean, S., and Cork, S. J. (1995). Consequences of biotransformation of plant secondary metabolites on acid-base metabolism in mammals a final common pathway Journal of Chemical Ecology 21,721-743. 

Kurz, W. G. W. and Constabel, F. 1985. Aspects affecting biosynthesis and biotransformation of secondary metabolities in plant cell cultures. CRC Critical Reviews in Biotechnology, 2(2) 105-118. 

Reinhard, E. and Alfermann, A. W. 1980. Biotransformation by plant cells. In Advances in Biochemical Engineering 16. Plant Cell Cultures I. (Fiechter, A., ed.), pp. 49-83. Berlin Springer-Verlag. 

Alicyclic thioether sulfoxidation is also a route of biotransformation in bacteria and plants. For example, biotin (95), the most important naturally occurring tetrahydrothiophene derivative so far recognized, has been found to exist in bacteria as biotin sulfoxide (96)... 

Biotransformation rapidly metabolized in plants to water-soluble metabolites (Tomlin 1994). 

Advances in computer technology, computational chemistry, and theoretical understanding have yielded a battery of different tools for rationalizing and predicting chemical metabolism. This chapter briefly surveys some available methodologies that have been applied to answer a variety of different questions concerned with chemical metabolism, primarily for mammalian biotransformations, although biotransformations within plants and other organisms follow similar principles. 

Table 1 Comparison of in vitro test systems to study biotransformation (in part from Plant 2004). ...

Zhu, W. Lockwood, G.B. Enhanced biotransformation of terpenes in plant cell suspensions using controlled release polymer. Biotechnol. Lett. 2000, 22, 659-662. 

---