The aerobic degradation of dichloromethane: Structural-functional aspects (a review)

This review summarizes current notions on the mechanisms of transport and degradation of dichloromethane (DCM) by aerobic methylotrophic bacteria as well as enzymological and genetic aspects of DCM dehalogenation, including probable pathways used by cells to overcome accompanying stresses (acid, osmotic, and oxidative). The topicality of the problem of the degradation of this genotoxic solvent is associated with the search for and creation of new DCM-destroying strains, which would provide for more efficient bioremediation of industrial sewage and ecosystems with extreme pH and salinity and could be used for the development of modern techniques for DCM degradation on the basis of existing strains. Special attention is given to the consideration of methodological approaches to the interpretation of physiological-biochemical and molecular bases of adaptation of bacteria to the utilization of DCM and other halogenated pollutants.