Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Estación Experimental del Zaidín, Department of Environmental Protection, E-18008 Granada, Spain.
Curr Opin Biotechnol. 2012 Jun;23(3):415-21. doi: 10.1016/j.copbio.2011.11.015. Epub 2011 Dec 10.
Bacteria have been found in all niches explored on Earth, their ubiquity derives from their enormous metabolic diversity and their capacity to adapt to changes in the environment. Some bacterial strains are able to thrive in the presence of high concentrations of toxic organic chemicals, such as aromatic compounds, aliphatic alcohols and solvents. The extrusion of these toxic compounds from the cell to the external medium represents the most relevant aspect in the solvent tolerance of bacteria, however, solvent tolerance is a multifactorial process that involves a wide range of genetic and physiological changes to overcome solvent damage. These additional elements include reduced membrane permeabilization, implementation of a stress response programme, and in some cases degradation of the toxic compound. We discuss the recent advances in our understanding of the mechanisms involved in solvent tolerance.
已在地球所有探索过的生境中发现细菌，它们的普遍存在源于其巨大的代谢多样性和适应环境变化的能力。一些细菌菌株能够在存在高浓度有毒有机化学品的情况下茁壮成长，例如芳香族化合物、脂肪族醇和溶剂。这些有毒化合物从细胞中排出到外部介质是细菌对溶剂耐受性的最重要方面，然而，溶剂耐受性是一个多因素的过程，涉及广泛的遗传和生理变化以克服溶剂的损害。这些附加元素包括减少膜通透性、实施应激反应程序，在某些情况下还包括有毒化合物的降解。我们讨论了在理解溶剂耐受性所涉及的机制方面的最新进展。
