Organic Chemical Biodegradability Assessed

Spanish scientists have determined the biodegradability of thousands of organic chemicals.

The findings by Victor de Lorenzo and colleagues at the National Center for Biotechnology in Madrid may help assess the environmental risk associated with the production, transportation and disposal of organic chemicals.

The biodegradability of organic pollutants released into the environment is largely determined by the ability of microorganisms to break down such substances. Using a database of all known microbial metabolic reactions, the researchers were able to train a computer algorithm to distinguish biodegradable chemicals from compounds recalcitrant to biological recycling.

The resulting computer-assisted screening of more than 9,000 chemicals suggests herbicides scored poorly as biodegradables.

The research appears in the current issue of the journal Molecular Systems Biology.