PUBMED: A Surprising Resource

A name like “PUBMED” suggests medical research … and that is largely true. PubMed Central (PMC) (http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/) is the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) free digital archive of biomedical and life sciences journal literature. But it also contains a surprisingly large number of articles relating to desulfurization. It is free, and it is worth a look. Although most are abstracts only, a number are available in full text, e.g., the following review …

Bacterial Degradation of Aromatic Compounds
Jong-Su Seo, Young-Soo Keum, and Qing X. Li
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2009 January; 6(1): 278–309. Published online 2009 January 13. doi: 10.3390/ijerph6010278.
PMCID: PMC2672333
Copyright © 2009 by the authors; licensee Molecular Diversity Preservation International, Basel, Switzerland.
1 Department of Molecular Biosciences and Bioengineering, University of Hawaii, 1955 East-West Road, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
2 Current address: Analytical Research Center, Korea Institute of Toxicology, 100 Jangdong, Yuseonggu, Daejeon 305–343, Korea; E-Mail:jsseo@kitox.re.kr (J.-S.S.);
3 Current address: School of Agricultural Biotechnology, Seoul National University, San 56–1, Shinrim-9-dong, Kwanakgu, Seoul 151–742, Korea; E-mail:rational@snu.ac.kr (Y.-S.K.)
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-mail:qingl@hawaii.edu; Tel.: +1-808-956-2011; Fax: +1-808–956–3542
Abstract
Aromatic compounds are among the most prevalent and persistent pollutants in the environment. Petroleum-contaminated soil and sediment commonly contain a mixture of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and heterocyclic aromatics. Aromatics derived from industrial activities often have functional groups such as alkyls, halogens and nitro groups. Biodegradation is a major mechanism of removal of organic pollutants from a contaminated site. This review focuses on bacterial degradation pathways of selected aromatic compounds. Catabolic pathways of naphthalene, fluorene, phenanthrene, fluoranthene, pyrene, and benzo[a]pyrene are described in detail. Bacterial catabolism of the heterocycles dibenzofuran, carbazole, dibenzothiophene, and dibenzodioxin is discussed. Bacterial catabolism of alkylated PAHs is summarized, followed by a brief discussion of proteomics and metabolomics as powerful tools for elucidation of biodegradation mechanisms.

Biodegradation is a very broad field and involves uses of a wide range of microorganisms to break chemical bonds. It has been well reviewed [1, 2], however, it is a very active field and new data are rapidly contributed to the literature. This review is focused on bacterial catabolic pathways of selected aromatic pollutants under aerobic culture conditions (Table 1). The selected aromatic pollutants include the PAHs naphthalene, fluorene, phenanthrene, fluoranthene, pyrene, and benzo[a]pyrene, the heterocycles dibenzofuran, carbazole, dibenzothiophene, and dibenzodioxin, and alkylated PAHs. Metabolomics and proteomics in elucidation of mechanisms of microbial degradation of aromatics are also briefly discussed.
source: http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/picrender.fcgi?artid=2672333&blobtype=pdf&tool=pmcentrez