Department of Microbiology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA.
Curr Opin Biotechnol. 2013 Jun;24(3):443-50. doi: 10.1016/j.copbio.2012.10.005. Epub 2012 Oct 29.
Ether oxygenates such as methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) are added to gasoline to improve fuel combustion and decrease exhaust emissions. Ether oxygenates and their tertiary alcohol metabolites are now an important group of groundwater pollutants. This review highlights recent advances in our understanding of the microorganisms, enzymes and pathways involved in both the aerobic and anaerobic biodegradation of these compounds. This review also aims to illustrate how these microbiological and biochemical studies have guided, and have helped refine, molecular and stable isotope-based analytical approaches that are increasingly being used to detect and quantify biodegradation of these compounds in contaminated environments.
甲基叔丁基醚（MTBE）等醚类含氧化合物被添加到汽油中以改善燃料燃烧并减少废气排放。醚类含氧化合物及其叔醇代谢物现已成为地下水的重要污染物群体。本综述重点介绍了我们对有氧和厌氧生物降解这些化合物所涉及的微生物、酶和途径的最新理解方面的进展。本综述还旨在说明这些微生物学和生物化学研究如何指导并帮助改进分子和稳定同位素分析方法，这些方法越来越多地用于检测和量化受污染环境中这些化合物的生物降解。
