During fiscal year 1969, the Bureau of Mines was engaged in 66 projects to improve methods for producing and utilizing petroleum. Programs directed toward the continued conservation of this natural resource, including crude oil, natural gas, and oil shale, were carried out through research performed at four laboratories supervised and supported by administrative personnel of this Bureau of the Interior. Over 100 technical paper and reports were published by the Bureau or others based on this research, and numerous other reports were prepared for U.S. Government agencies, State agencies, and organizations of the petroleum and natural gas industry engaged in cooperative research programs with the Bureau.

This book provides recent studies focused on chemical biology and biocatalysis applied to organic synthesis. The articles range from topics such as fungal metabolism and fungi-mediated biotransformations to the exploitation of specific enzymes in biocatalyzed reactions, also including works on the characterization of enzymes and the study of their catalytic activity. Overall, ten studies are presented that provide the reader with relevant, fresh insights on the use of enzymes and on the importance of biocatalysis.