ABSTRACT

Microorganisms for their growth, sustenance, and reproduction need a suitable form of reduced carbon source (chemical energy), which under normal conditions of culture broth are the common sugars. Amazingly, to a very large extent, there is no limit to the adaptability of these microorganisms to metabolize various other forms of carbon sources, other than the common sugars. For example, biphenyl (I) and monohydroxy biphenyl (II) are toxic to the fungi, but when strains of Asperigillus parasiticus adopted to monohydroxy biphenyl (II) were used, biphenyl was converted to the 4,4′-dihydroxy biphenyl (III) in good yields (Fig 4.1).