During the past five years increased awareness of environmental
contamination by nitroaromatic compounds has led to a dramatic increase
in research on their biodegradation. The resulting discoveries have
markedly extended our understanding of degradation mecha- nisms and
pathways in bacteria and fungi. Futhermore, this new basic knowledge
promises the development of field applications of biodegradation systems
for nitroaromatic com- pounds. In May of 1994, an International
Symposium on the Biodegradation of Nitro aromatic Compounds was held in
Las Vegas, Nevada. This symposium brought together the scientists at the
frontiers of research into the biodegradation of nitro aromatic
compounds. The invited speakers were asked to review their area of
expertise and write a critical, comprehensive synthesis of their work
and related work by others. This book is the result of their efforts.
The emphasis of the reviews is on basic research in biodegradation and
biotransfor- mation. Therefore, the reactions of nitroaromatic compounds
in plants, animals, bacteria, fungi, soil, and even nonbiological
systems are considered. The goal of the work is to provide the reader
with an appreciation of the tremendous range of possibilities for
metabolism of aromatic nitro compounds and the experimental approaches
used to understand them. This volume should be of interest to
biochemists, microbiologists, engineers, toxicologists, and anyone
interested in the behavior of synthetic chemicals in the environment or
in living systems. Furthermore, a variety of commercial applications can
be envisioned for some of the reactions described here.