Why are some xenobiotics biodegraded slower than crude oil and petroleum products?
A) Xenobiotics were designed to inhibit microbial growth.
B) Some xenobiotics are novel compounds that differ from naturally occurring chemicals, thus microorganisms have not yet evolved to effectively degrade them.
C) Only cometabolic microbial processes degrade xenobiotics.
D) Chlorinated compounds are so toxic that biodegradation is not possible.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Xenobiotics are synthetic or man-made chemicals that are not present in nature. Due to their novel structure, microorganisms may not possess the necessary enzymes and pathways to efficiently break them down. This makes them more difficult to biodegrade than crude oil and petroleum products, which are composed of more familiar chemical compounds that have been present in the environment for millions of years.

Why Are Some Xenobiotics Biodegraded Slower Than Crude Oil and Petroleum