Degradation of Xenobiotic Pollutants: An Environmentally Sustainable Approach

Abstract

The ability of microorganisms to detoxify xenobiotic compounds allows them to thrive in a toxic environment using carbon, phosphorus, sulfur, and nitrogen from the available sources. Biotransformation is the most effective and useful metabolic process to degrade xenobiotic compounds. Microorganisms have an exceptional ability due to particular genes, enzymes, and degradative mechanisms. Microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi have unique properties that enable them to partially or completely metabolize the xenobiotic substances in various ecosystems.There are many cutting-edge approaches available to understand the molecular mechanism of degradative processes and pathways to decontaminate or change the core structure of xenobiotics in nature. These methods examine microorganisms, their metabolic machinery, novel proteins, and catabolic genes. This article addresses recent advances and current trends to characterize the catabolic genes, enzymes and the techniques involved in combating the threat of xenobiotic compounds using an eco-friendly approach.

Depth wide distribution and metabolic potential of chemolithoautotrophic microorganisms reactivated from deep continental granitic crust underneath the Deccan Traps at Koyna, India

“…Genes related to synthesis of different antimicrobial and medicinal compounds, biodegradable polymers and xenobiotic degradation were predicted from the 16S rRNA gene amplicon inventory of our study. This prediction could be linked to the enrichment of taxa like Actinobacteria, Pseudomonas, Aeromonas, Alcaligenes, Ralstonia and Marinobacter , few of which were reported earlier to be capable of production natural biodegradable polyesters (PHA, PHBs), antimicrobial compounds and degradation of xenobiotic compounds ( Mullis et al, 2019 ; Moradali and Rehm, 2020 ; Miglani et al, 2022 ).…”

Bacillus megaterium Renuspore® as a potential probiotic for gut health and detoxification of unwanted dietary contaminants

“…Data from the 4-Chloro-2-nitrophenol (4C2NP) decolorization result show the degradation capacity of Renuspore ® with respect to time ( Figure 6 ). A study from the genomics and transcriptomics on Rhodococcus species suggests that 4-nitrophenol breaks down into acetyl-coA and succinate by nitrocatechol through Nph -specific genes (Miglani et al, 2022 ), facilitating the further metabolism of this hazardous pesticide. All these endocrine disruptors that are present in the environmental chemicals may contribute to the ecosocionomic burden by increasing human diseases and disabilities (Kassotis et al, 2020 ).…”

Mariniradius sediminis sp. nov., a multi-xenobiotics degrading genes harbouring bacterium isolated from sediment of river

“…A total of 80 strains were isolated from the same set of samples as strain RY-2 T , and these strains were distributed in 28 genera, which were Shigella (10), Microbacterium (9), Bacillus (6), Pseudomonas (5), Pseudoxanthomonas (5), Brevundimonas (4), (1), Flavihumibacter (1), Halobacillus (1), Leucobacter (1), Mesobacillus (1), Oceanobacillus (1), Phaeovulum (1), Planococcus (1), Rhodobacter (1), Sphingobacterium (1) and Sphingomonas (1), of which Shigella, Microbacterium and Bacillus are the dominant genera. Many members of these bacteria are putative pollutant degraders, such as Acinetobacter, Aeromonas, Bacillus, Enterobacter, Pseudomonas, Rhizobium and Sphingomonas, which have the ability to degrade organic compounds including benzene, phenol, chlorobenzene, chloromethane, toluene, xylene, chlorinated benzene, and vinyl chloride [7].…”