Abstract
Microorganisms play an important role in the removal of synthetic organic compounds from the environment. This chapter gives an overview of the evolution of biodegradation pathways and describes the strategies that microorganisms have evolved to transform important molecular structures. The actual effectiveness of biodegradation in the environment is determined by the bioavailability of the compounds. As a general rule, one could state that the release rates of synthetic compounds should not exceed the environment’s ability to degrade them.
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© 2001 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Bosma, T.N.P., Harms, H., Zehnder, A.J.B. (2001). Biodegradation of Xenobiotics in Environment and Technosphere. In: Beek, B. (eds) Biodegradation and Persistence. The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry, vol 2 / 2K. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/10508767_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/10508767_2
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Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-62576-6
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