Work

Use of the University of Minnesota Biocatalysis/Biodegradation Database for study of microbial degradation

Year: 2012

Type: article

Abstract: Microorganisms are ubiquitous on earth and have diverse metabolic transformative capabilities important for environmental biodegradation of chemicals that helps maintain ecosystem and human health. Microbial biodegradative metabolism is the main focus of the University of Minnesota Biocatalysis/Biodegradation Database (UM-BBD). UM-BBD data has also been used to develop a computational metabolic pathway prediction system that can be applied to chemicals for which biodegradation data is currently lacking. The UM-Pathway Prediction System (UM-PPS) relies on metabolic rules that are based on organic functional groups and predicts plausible biodegradative metabolism. The predictions are useful to environmental chemists that look for metabolic intermediates, for regulators looking for potential toxic products, for microbiologists seeking to understand microbial biodegradation, and others with a wide-range of interests.

Source: Microbial Informatics and Experimentation

DOI: 10.1186/2042-5783-2-1

Authors: Lynda BM Ellis, Lawrence P Wackett

Institution: University of Minnesota

Language: English

Topic: Microbial bioremediation and biosurfactants

Subfield: Pollution

Field: Environmental Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Funders: National Science Foundation, University of Minnesota

Award: A Microbial Biodegradation Database on the World Wide Web