Molecular genetics of pesticide degradation

Molecular Genetics of Pesticide Degradation by Soil Bacteria... 

J. S. Karns, Molecular Genetics of Pesticide Degradation by Soil Bacteria , in K. D. Racke and J. R. Coats, Eds., Enhanced Biodegradation of Pesticides in the Environment, ACS Symposium Series No. 426, American Chemical Society, Washington, D.C. 1990, pp. 141-152. 

What I hope to do in this paper is to give the reader a brief introduction to bacterial genetics and then to describe the research that has demonstrated the involvement of plasmids in carrying genes which encode enzymes that degrade pesticides. I will then discuss the possible role of plasmids in the development of the enhanced degradation phenomenon and the types of research that may lead to the delineation of the molecular events that lead to the development of rapid pesticide degradation in soils. 

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