The Frankia actinorhizal plant symbiosis plays an important role in colonization of soils contaminated with toxic aromatic hydrocarbons. Our understanding of the bacterial partner, Frankia, in the actinorhizal symbiosis has been greatly facilitated by the availability of sequenced genomes. The analysis of these Frankia genomes has suggested that these bacteria are metabolically diverse and have potential for toxic aromatic hydrocarbon degradation. In this chapter, we explore what is known about that metabolic potential.
Part of the book: Actinobacteria