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Adding a chemical surfactant to crude oil can enhance its biodegradation by Pseudomonas sp. strain JA5-B45 and Rhodococcus sp. strain F9-D79. The surfactant increases total petroleum hydrocarbon removal and keeps the bacteria from adhering to the oil-water interface.

The 3-nitrophenol-induced enzyme system of Pseudomonas putida 2NP8 can convert many nitroaromatic compounds to ammonia. With a few exceptions, most of the 30 mono- or dinitroaromatic substrates tested were converted.

Research has ben conducted on the hydroxylaminobenzene and aminophenol biotransformation products. The characterization of these products has been carried out.

A study was conducted to examine the biodegradation of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners using white rot fungi. Organisms were prepared on potato dextrose agar plates while veratryl alcohol was determined into dichloromethane from aqueous NaOH. Results indicated that congener binding to the Phanerochaete chrysosporium biomass was a critical factor in the low recovery of congeners. They also showed that peroxidase levels were not directly correlated with PCB degradation.

Phaeodactylum tricornutum contains four main polar lipids. The molecular species present in each of the main polar lipids were separated by reverse-phase HPLC and the positional distribution of fatty acids in each of the molecular species was determined. The analysis showed that the predominant molecular species are 20:5-16:4-monogalactose, 41.2; 20:5-16:1- digalactose, 21.0; 16:1-16:-sulphoquinovose, 18.2 and 20:5-16:1-monogalactose, 18.0. Eicosapentanoic acid predominated in the monogalactyosyldiacyglycerol and digalactosyldiacylglycerol polar lipid classes.

Whole cells and crude cell extracts of Pseudomonas putida were able to produce 2-hydroxypropiophenone from benzoylformate with acetaldehyde as the cosubstrate. Benzaldehyde and benzyl alcohol were also produced. The production of the acyloin was more efficient with the crude cell extracts, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy showed the enantiomeric excess to be 91% to 92 %. The absolute configuration of the carbinol carbon was S. This novel reaction was shown to be catalyzed by benzoylformate decarboxylase.

The new molecular techniques have enhanced the ability to investigate the dynamics of microbial communities in petroleum-impacted ecosystems, is revealed. It reveals that enzymes are being exploited to produce added-value products from petroleum substrates, and bacterial biosensors are being used to analyze petroleum-contaminated environments.