Microbial Degradation of Xenobiotics
Our interest in the microbial biodegradation of xenobiotics has increased many folds in recent years to find out sustainable ways for environmental cleanup. Bioremediation and biotransformation processes harness the naturally occurring ability of microbes
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Shree Nath Singh Editor
Microbial Degradation of Xenobiotics
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Shree Nath Singh Environmental Science Division National Botanical Research Institute Rana Pratap Marg 226001 Lucknow India e-mail: [email protected]
ISSN 1863-5520 ISBN 978-3-642-23788-1 DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-23789-8
e-ISBN 978-3-642-23789-8
Springer Heidelberg Dordrecht London New York Library of Congress Control Number: 2011938665 Ó Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2012 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilm or in any other way, and storage in data banks. Duplication of this publication or parts thereof is permitted only under the provisions of the German Copyright Law of September 9, 1965, in its current version, and permission for use must always be obtained from Springer. Violations are liable to prosecution under the German Copyright Law. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. Printed on acid-free paper Springer is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com)
In loving memory of my parents
Preface
Microorganisms are ubiquitous in the environment playing an important role in biogeochemical cycling. However, their ability to metabolize xenobiotic compounds has received much attention in recent years due to their environmental persistence and toxicity. Hence, microbial degradation of xenobiotics is, today, seen as both cost-effective and eco-friendly technology for removing these pollutants by a process known as bioremediation. Earlier researchers have confirmed that microbes are capable of degrading a wide range of organic pollutants. However, process of biodegradation is generally very slow and hence, this process may be accelerated by augmenting pure and mixed cultures of microorganisms in both aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Metabolic intermediates formed in the degradative pathways were also examined for their toxicity assessments using bacteria and higher organisms. Many of degradative genes responsible for xenobiotic metabolism are present on plasmids, transposons or are grouped in clusters on chromosomes. This indicates evolution of degradative pathways and makes the genetic manipulation easier. Development of the transgenic microbial strains highly capable of degrading xenobiotics is now possible through biotechnological approaches. Besides, several catabolic enzymes involved in xenobiotic metabolism have been isolated and characterized. A number of environmental factors, including pH, temperature, bioavailability, nutrient supply and oxygen availability have been shown to affect biodegradation process. These factors have to be
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