Bioremediation: an emerging effective approach towards environment restoration

TLDR: The metabolic potential of microbes has tremendously improved the realization of degradation and remediation of environmental pollution and recent advances in microbes and plants associated bioremediation are discussed.

Abstract: Environmental pollution and its remediation are one of the major problems around the globe. Broad varieties of pollutants viz. pesticides, hydrocarbons, heavy metals, and dyes, etc. are the key players, which are mainly responsible for environmental pollution. Residual contaminants are also difficult to eliminate. Bioremediation is one of the most efficient technologies for the reduction of environmental pollutants that recovers the contaminated site back to its actual form. So far only a small number of microbes (culturable microbes) have been exploited and a huge microbial diversity is still unexplored. To enhance the metabolic potential of the microbes, ecological restoration and degradation of recalcitrant pollutants, various bioremediation approaches like chemotaxis, biostimulation, bioaugmentation, biofilm formation, application of genetically engineered microorganisms, advanced omics, have been widely used. In the last few years, the metabolic potential of microbes has tremendously improved the realization of degradation and remediation of environmental pollution. Microorganisms help in the restoration of contaminated habitats by cleaning up waste in a environmentally safe manner along with the production of safe end products. This review discusses the important processes involved in enhancing bioremediation and recent advances in microbes and plants associated bioremediation.