Biotransformation

A USGS scientist collecting water samples anaerobically in a glove bag as part of a study of the processes that control the biotransformation of contaminants in a subsurface plume of landfill leachate at the Norman Municipal Landfill, Norman, Okla. (Click on image for larger version)

Definitions

Biotransformation – "Chemical conversion of a substance that is mediated by living organisms or enzyme preparations derived there from." - Stephenson and others, 2006

Biotransformation - "Biotransformation is the process whereby a substance is changed from one chemical to another (transformed) by a chemical reaction within the body." – National Library of Medicine and Monosson, 2007

Biotransformation or microbial transformation – "The use of living organisms to modify substances that are not normally used for growth." – Prescott and others, 2002

Biotransformation – "The series of chemical reactions that occur in a compound, especially a drug, as a result of enzymatic or metabolic activities by a living organism." - McGraw-Hill Companies, 2003

Biotransformation - "Chemical alteration of a substance within the body, as by the action of enzymes." - Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries, 2000

Related Definitions

Biodegradation

Aerobic

Aerobic Biodegradation

Anaerobic

Anaerobic Biodegradation

Anoxic

Electron Acceptor

Electron Donor

Natural Attenuation

USGS Information on Biodegradation

• Crosscutting Topics, Toxic Substances Hydrology (Toxics) Program
• Natural Attenuation
• Contaminant Plume Geochemistry and Microbiology
• Toxics Program Biodegradation Investigations
• Biodegradation of Emerging Contaminants
• Fate of Landfill Leachate, Norman Municipal Landfill, Norman, Oklahoma
• Sewage Contamination in Sand and Gravel Aquifers, Cape Cod, Massachusetts
• Processes that Control the Natural Attenuation of Chlorinated Solvents
• Microbial Degradation of Chloroethenes in Groundwater Systems
• Application of Molecular Methods in Microbial Ecology to Understand the Natural Attenuation of Chlorinated Solvents
• Processes Affecting the Natural Attenuation of Fuels in Groundwater
• Crude Oil -- Bemidji, Minnesota
• Fuel Oxygenates -- Laurel Bay, South Carolina
• Gasoline -- Galloway Township, New Jersey [Completed]
• Produced Water -- Osage-Skiatook Petroleum Environmental Research Project, Oklahoma [Completed]
• Creosote Waste in Ground Water, Pensacola, Florida [Completed]
• Toxics Program Remediation Related Activities
• Biodegradation of Charcoal Production Wastes, Kingsford, Mich.
• Quantifying Subsurface Biodegredation, Norman Municipal Landfill, Norman, Okla.
• Can Trees Clean Up Ground Water? Phytoremediation of Trichloroethene-Contaminated Ground Water at Air Force Plant 4, Fort Worth, Tex.
• Natural Attenuation of Wood Preservatives in Ground Water, Pensacola, Fla.
• Natural Aquifer Restoration, Massachusetts Military Reservation, Cape Cod, Mass.
• RDX Biodegradation Assessment, Naval Submarine Base Bangor, Wash.
• Oxygen-Release Compound Remediation Tests, Laurel Bay, S.C.
• Quantifying Natural Attenuation at the Plume Scale, Galloway Township, N.J. and Laurel Bay, S.C.
• USGS National Research Program Biodegradation Related Projects
• Biogeochemistry of Carbon and Nitrogen in Aquatic Environments
• Chemical Transformations in Water Reclamation and Reuse
• Microbial Biogeochemistry of Aquatic Environments
• Multiphase Contaminant Transport, Reaction and Biodegradation
• Organic Compounds in Near-Surface Environments: Understanding Fate in a Changing Biogeochemical Landscape
• Partitioning of Solutes between Solid and Aqueous Phases
• Subsurface Microbiology Research - Bacteria, Contaminant Interactions
• Bioremediation Activities, USGS Microbiology Research
• Geochemical and Microbial Evidence of Fuel Biodegradation in a Contaminated Karst Aquifer in Southern Kentucky, June 1999

Related Headlines

• Complex Mixture of Contaminants Persists in Streams Miles from the Source
• Natural Attenuation Accelerates Pump-and-Treat Cleanup of TCE in Fractured Rock
• Organic Contaminants Stored on Sediments Can Slow Down Groundwater Restoration
• Sometimes the Question Is «Who Isn't Living There?»
• Do Natural Processes Mitigate Contamination from Landfill Leachate?
• Hormones Degrade in the Environment!
• Detergents in Streams May Just Disappear
• Hydrogen Measured in a New Test for Determining Subsurface Microbiological Activity at Contamination Sites
• New Report Presents a Framework for Assessing the Sustainability of Monitored Natural Attenuation
• RDX Biodegradation Under Metal-Reducing Conditions
• New Information on the Long-Term Fate of Ammonium in Ground Water
• Microorganisms Degrade MTBE Even at Winter Ground-Water Temperatures
• Does NDMA Biodegrade at Ground-Water Recharge Facilities?
• Ground-Water Recharge Affects Fate of Petroleum Contaminant Plumes
• History and Ecology of Chloroethene Biodegradation--A Review
• Using Oxygen to Enhance Biodegradation of Contaminants -- Lessons Learned
• USGS Scientists Contribute to the Landmark "Treatise on Geochemistry"
• A Unique Approach to Evaluating Natural Attenuation is Applied Worldwide
• Landmark Book Published on the Fate of Contaminants in the Environment: Partition and Adsorption of Organic Contaminants in Environmental Systems
• Using Oxygen to Clean Up Ground-Water Contamination
• MTBE Can Degrade Naturally Without Oxygen
• How Do You Clean Up Gasoline Spills Naturally?
• Relying on Nature to Clean Up Contaminated Ground Water
• MTBE Biodegrades Naturally in Stream Sediments
• Natural Attenuation for Groundwater Remediation
• Can a Sewage-Contaminated Aquifer Naturally Clean Itself?
• Natural Attenuation of MTBE at Laurel Bay, South Carolina

Other Information on Biodegradation

• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
  • Natural Attenuation, CLU-IN, Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation
  • Monitored Natural Attenuation (MNA), Office of Research and Development
  • Commonly Asked Questions Regarding the Use of Natural Attenuation for Petroleum Contaminated Sites at Federal Facilities
  • Commonly Asked Questions Regarding the Use of Natural Attenuation for Chlorinated Solvent Spills at Federal Facilities
• National Research Council Reports
• Natural Attenuation for Groundwater Remediation
• In Situ Bioremediation: When Does it Work?
• Alternatives for Ground Water Cleanup
• Environmental Inquiry - Biodegradation, Cornell University and Penn State University
• Biocatalysis/Biodegradation Database, University of Minnesota

References

Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries, 2000, The American heritage dictionary of the English language (4 ed.): Houghton Mifflin Company, 2076 p.

McGraw-Hill Companies, 2003, Biotransformation, in AccessScience--McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology Online: The McGraw-Hill Companies, access date July 18, 2007.

National Library of Medicine (content source), Emily Monosson (editor), 2007, Biotransformation, in Cleveland, C.J., ed., Encyclopedia of Earth: Washington, D.C., Environmental Information Coalition, National Council for Science and the Environment, access date July 18, 2007.

Prescott, L.M., Klein, D.A., and Harley, J.P., 2002, Microbiology--Online learning center (5th ed.): McGraw-Hill Higher Education, p.

Stephenson, G.R., Ferris, I.G., Holland, P.T., and Nordberg, M., 2006, Glossary of terms relating to pesticides (IUPAC Recommendations 2006): Pure and Applied Chemistry, v. 78, no. 11, p. 2,075-2,154, doi:10.1351/pac200678112075.