The occurrence and roles of porphyrins in the environment: possible implications for bioremediation

Porphyrins are the molecules which are at the heart of most biochemical reactions involved in bioremediation. This review paper discusses the chemical structures, the biosynthetic pathways and the occurrence of porphyrins in the environment. The parallel between the mammalian and bacterial cytochrome P-450 enzyme systems and the similarity of the reactions at the molecular level is brought to the attention of the reader. Experiments where porphyrins and corrinoids are used as catalysts in the absence of the enzymes or the bacterial cells are opening the field of biochemical remediation, somewhere midway between biological and abiotic reactions.