Biological machinery for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons degradation: A review
Abstract
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are hazardous environmental pollutants with widespread and well-recognized health concerns. Amidst more than a hundred known PAHs, 16 are categorized as priority pollutants. Use of widely diverse biological machinery comprising bacteria, fungi, and algae harnessed from contaminated sites has emerged as an ecologically safe and sustainable approach for PAH degradation. The potential of these biological systems has been thoroughly examined to maximize the degradation of specific PAHs by understanding their detailed biochemical pathways, enzymatic system, and gene organization. Recent advancements in microbial genetic engineering and metabolomics using modern analytical tools have facilitated the bioremediation of such xenobiotics. This review explores the role of microbes, their biochemical pathways, genetic regulation of metabolic pathways, and the effect of biosurfactants against the backdrop of PAH substrate structures.
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Pseudomonas and Actinobacteria strains break down PAHs and have emulsifying properties that help break down PAHs.
“A group of microbes called Pseudomonas and Actinobacteria strains break down PAHs.These microbes have emulsifying properties that help break down PAHs [159].”
From Harnessing bacterial consortia for effective bioremediation: targeted removal of heavy metals, hydrocarbons, and persistent pollutants (2025) · cites this paper as [159]
Cites
Engineering Biocatalytic Material for the Remediation of Pollutants: A Comprehensive Review
Mishra, B., Varjani, S., Agrawal, D. C., Mandal, S. K., Ngo, H. H., Taherzadeh, M. J., Chang, J.-S., You, S., & Guo, W. (2020) · Environmental Technology & Innovation · doi:10.1016/j.eti.2020.101063 · Cited by 118 · see citing works
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Qattan, S. Y. A. (2025) · Environmental Sciences Europe · doi:10.1186/s12302-025-01103-y · Cited by 109 · see citing works
- Authors
- Imam, A., Kumar Suman, S., Kanaujia, P. K., & Ray, A.
- Affiliations
- Indian Institute of Petroleum (IN)
- Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (IN)
- Corresponding author
- Ray, Anjan
- Venue
- Bioresource Technology
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2022-01
- Volume
- 343
- Pages
- 126121
- ISSN
- 0960-8524 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W3205990074
- Cited by
- 208
- References
- 1
- Citations by year
- 2026: 34 · 2025: 44 · 2024: 45 · 2023: 55 · 2022: 30
- FWCI
- 1.58
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- Locations
- Bioresource Technology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, India (OLP-1094)
- Department of Science and Technology, Ministry of Science and Technology, India
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Pollution › Microbial bioremediation and biosurfactants
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Steroid Chemistry and Biochemistry
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Plant Science › Enzyme-mediated dye degradation
- Keywords
- polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, biodegradation, bioremediation, bacterial degradation, fungal degradation, algal degradation, xenobiotic metabolism, gene expression regulation, biosurfactants, microbial genetic engineering, metabolomics, priority pollutants
- MeSH terms
- Bacteria, Biodegradation, Environmental, Environmental Pollutants, Fungi, Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons, Soil Pollutants
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