[Physiological and biochemical properties of actinobacteria as the basis of their high biodegradative activity (review)].

The review summarizes the authors' own data and reports by other researchers concerning the degradation of stable organic compounds by actinobacteria. Properties of these microorganisms are characterized. They include the ability to survive and to maintain metabolic activity during prolonged exposure to adverse environmental conditions, as well as the presence of enzymes with a broad substrate specificity, which enables these bacteria to decompose natural and synthetic substances. The transformation pathways of key intermediates and the ability of actinobacteria to develop novel pathways are discussed. Approaches to increasing the destructive activity of bacterial cultures are presented.