Bacterial Degradation of Quinoline and Derivatives-Pathways and Their Biocatalysts.

A series of interesting enzymes were discovered during investigations on the degradation of quinoline by microorganisms. These include the molybdenum-containing hydroxylases that catalyze the transformation 1→2 and the unusual 2,4-dioxygenases that catalyze the reaction 3→4. The application of the hydroxylases may even be interesting in industry, because several quinoline derivatives are used as pharmaceuticals or agrochemicals.