The increase in public environmental awareness and the recognition of the urgent need to control and reduce pollution are leading factors in the recent augment of scientific research for new biodegradable compounds. Biodegradable compounds could replace others that harm the environment and pose hazards to public health, and animal and plant survival. Biodegradation, i.e., the metabolization of substances by bacteria, yeast, fungi, from which these organisms obtain nutrients and energy, is an important natural resource for the development of new environmental-friendly technologies with immediate impact in the chemical industry and other economic activities. Research efforts in this field are two-fold: to identify and/or develop transgenic biological agents that digest specific existing compounds in polluted soils and water, and to develop new biodegradable compounds to replace hazardous chemicals in industrial activity. Research is, therefore, aimed at bioremediation, which could identify biological agents that rapidly degrade...