Hydrocarbonoclastic activity in bacterial biofilms: A systematic study emphasizing pseudomonads

Abstract

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a ubiquitous fluorescent, rod-shaped pseudomonad, with a high metabolic capacity, and potential for application in processes to remove recalcitrant compounds such as petroleum hydrocarbons (PHC) from the environment. The bacterium persists in sites with highly selective pressures such as those contaminated by PHC. One of the bacterium's strategies is to colonize biofilms which enhance its protection from toxic compounds and favor oil uptake. It is the most prevalent microbe at sites impacted by PHC owing to the use of aliphatic hydrocarbons to form biofilms and other metabolites crucial for the uptake and degradation of crude oil. P. aeruginosa could be useful in biofilm-mediated bioremediation; however, it has been poorly explored in the last ten years. This systematic study addresses recent research on the application of P. aeruginosa/pseudomonads biofilms in bioremediation The studies come from Asia and Africa and emphasized the formation of biofilm by P. aeruginosa and other pseudomonads as crucial elements in the detoxification process of the environment.