Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons-degradation genes of microbes: A research review

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are ubiquitous in the environment, while microbial degradation is considered to be an essential approach in their decontamination. Many researches have been made on the pathways and metabolic intermediates of PAHs degradation. In general, low molecular weight PAHs can be degraded by microbes directly, while the microbial degradation of high molecular weight PAHs should be carried through by co-metabolism. In the last two decades, the PAHs-degradation genes of microbes were discovered consecutively, and their structure-function relationships were studied. This paper summarized the research advances in these fields, with the focus on the genes in the microbial degradation of naphthalene and phenanthrene, and discussed their application prospects.