Construction of bacterial strains with novel degradative capabilities for chloroaromatics

Biodegradation of most naturally occurring compounds is relatively fast, since microorganisms have evolved appropriate enzyme systems. However, biodegradation is less likely in the case of man-made compounds like haloaromatics, which have structural features rarely or never encountered in natural products. One strategy to develop new metabolic activities for novel compounds by strains of microorganisms is by the alteration of their existing genetic information. The present paper summarizes results of studies where the degradation capabilities of bacteria were expanded by genetic material from external sources either by natural exchange or by cloning procedures.