Emerging chemicals and the evolution of biodegradation capacities and pathways in bacteria

The number of new chemicals produced is increasing daily by the thousands, and it is inevitable that many of these chemicals will reach the environment. Current research provides an understanding of how the evolution of promiscuous enzymes and the recruitment of enzymes available from the metagenome allows for the assembly of these pathways. Nevertheless, physicochemical constraints including bioavailability, bioaccessibility, and the structural variations of similar chemicals limit the evolution of biodegradation pathways. Similarly, physiological constraints related to kinetics and substrate utilization at low concentrations likewise limit chemical-enzyme interactions and consequently evolution. Considering these new data, the biodegradation decalogue still proves valid while at the same time the underlying mechanisms are better understood.