The metabolic pathways of biodegradation

Abstract

Biodegradation is the study of metabolic breakdown of chemicals, both natural and anthropogenic. Globlly, biodegradation is principally carried out by microorganisms. Microbes carry out diverse metabolic reactions and this gives them the ability to break down many synthetic chemicals that have been made for commercial purposes. The University of Minnesota Biocatalysis/Biodegradation Database [UM-BBD] (http://umbbd.ethz.ch) has captured information on diverse biodegradation reactions and shows metabolic pathways degrading natural and synthetic chemicals. A software tool is available on the database to predict the biodegradation of any organic chemical entered by the user.