Brief Summary

• Naphthenic acids (NAs) are a complex group of predominantly cycloaliphatic and alkyl substituted acyclic carboxylic acids found mainly in weathered crude oil.
• NAs cause severe environmental and economic problems. For example, NAs are recalcitrant, corrosive and are acutely toxic to a wide range of organisms including some microorganisms.
• Aromatic compounds in this mix make up a small but so far unexplored fraction.

Aims of Project

• To characterise microorganisms with the ability to degrade four surrogate aromatic NAs (n-, iso-, sec- and tert-BPBA).
• To elucidate the functional genes involved in NA degradation pathways. The results of two (n- and iso-BPBA) are presented.