Enzyme-clay interactions and their impact on transformations of natural and anthropogenic organic compounds in soil

Soil is a living system in which enzymes are present either free in solutio n or bound to clay and clay-humus complexes. Enzyme-clay interactions play a key role in transforming organic compounds in soil environments where the decomposition and synthetic processes are largely catalyzed by enzymes. Sc ientific evidence indicates that mineral colloids take part in the catalysi s of degradative and synthetic reactions of organic compounds. Such informa tion is essential to understanding the role of mineral colloids, the hidden half of the enzyme-mineral colloid complexes, in catalytic reactions. Desp ite the abundant literature on the enzyme interactions with pure crystallin e aluminosilicates, the nature of enzyme association with soil constituents , including both clean and coated clay minerals and other mineral colloids, and the effect on soil processes still remain unclear. This study integrat es the existing information, including recent findings on enzyme-mineral co lloid interactions and their effect on natural and anthropogenic organic co mpound transformation in soil. Further, the study focuses on the catalytic role of enzyme-clay complex surfaces in toxic industrial and agricultural c ompound bioremediation in soil and water environments.