Biodegradation of aromatic and aliphatic hydrocarbons is now understood to occur under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions.  Previously it was assumed that molecular oxygen was required to activate the stable hydrocarbon molecule and the anaerobic biodegradation of hydrocarbons was impossible.  With advances in biomolecular and genomic tools, we now recognize an anaerobic lifestyle that thrives on hydrocarbon molecules.  Important to the initial evidence proving anaerobic aromatic ring fission and metabolism were the analytical tools that identified metabolites of microbial degradation, and that could trace isotopically labeled substrates to provide unequivocal evidence of biodegradation.  Later came evidence for the genes and enzymes of novel mechanisms present in newly found anaerobes.  The entire genome sequences for some of these organisms are now available and provide a vast amount of information yet to be uncovered.  It is clear, however, that we have underestimated how good a chemist a microorganism can be.

Hydrocarbon degradation without the benefit of oxygen: Original microbial chemistry

243rd National Meeting (2012)

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