polluted sites. This book chapter aims to summarize the different physiological,
biochemical and molecular basis of remediation along with various
advancements in remedial approaches for conserving an ecological balance by
the use of microbes.
Keywords
Bioremediation · Ecosystem · Contaminants · Biodegradation · Genetic
engineering
15.1 Introduction
Environmental contamination and deterioration caused by heavy metals, pesticides,
petrochemicals, etc. has attracted increased attention worldwide. It is one of the most
serious problems that humans are facing these days. The brisk expansion of population has led to the development of different technologies, industries, increased use of
fertilizers and pesticides to cope with the demands for livelihood and elevated
pressure on natural resources such as air, water and soil (Kumar et al. 2011; Shah
2014). A huge amount of waste containing agrochemicals, dyes, heavy metals and
hydrocarbons has been generated by the industries and continuously dumped into
the environment without any treatment. During the twentieth century, with rapid
increase in industrialization, the discharge of solid and liquid contaminants in the
environment has also reached critical levels, thus resulting in building up several
pollution problems for the society (Shah 2014). The prominent sources of pollution
in the surroundings are (Rao et al. 2010):
(i) Industrial activities such as mining of ores, processing of metals, petrochemical
industry and chemical processing.
(ii) Waste discharged from electroplating, steel manufacturing, leather tanning,
electronics and automobiles, pulp and paper industry, textile industry, etc.
(iii) Other activities include agricultural practices and atmospheric deposition.
These anthropogenic activities considerably alter the biogeochemical cycles, affecting the terrestrial as well as aquatic ecosystem, thus becoming a universal threat to
the environment. The contaminants when released into the natural resources cause a
detrimental effect on human, animals, flora, fauna and microorganisms. Apart from
this, man compromise drinking water, food and air quality with greenhouse gases,
nuclear wastes, pesticides, heavy metals and hydrocarbon pollution (Löffler and
Edwards 2006; Rao et al. 2010; Azubuike et al. 2016). Human endeavours in the
manufacturing and improvement of economic goods and services for fulfilling the
needs of the population cannot be banned as they are mandatory for the survival of
humans on the planet earth. As a substitute, we must look for cleaner processes,
which lead to the formation of environmentally friendly things. We must concentrate
on our strategy for the declination and elimination of the existing pollution in the
422
G. Kaur et al.
biochemical and molecular basis of remediation along with various
advancements in remedial approaches for conserving an ecological balance by
the use of microbes.
Keywords
Bioremediation · Ecosystem · Contaminants · Biodegradation · Genetic
engineering
15.1 Introduction
Environmental contamination and deterioration caused by heavy metals, pesticides,
petrochemicals, etc. has attracted increased attention worldwide. It is one of the most
serious problems that humans are facing these days. The brisk expansion of population has led to the development of different technologies, industries, increased use of
fertilizers and pesticides to cope with the demands for livelihood and elevated
pressure on natural resources such as air, water and soil (Kumar et al. 2011; Shah
2014). A huge amount of waste containing agrochemicals, dyes, heavy metals and
hydrocarbons has been generated by the industries and continuously dumped into
the environment without any treatment. During the twentieth century, with rapid
increase in industrialization, the discharge of solid and liquid contaminants in the
environment has also reached critical levels, thus resulting in building up several
pollution problems for the society (Shah 2014). The prominent sources of pollution
in the surroundings are (Rao et al. 2010):
(i) Industrial activities such as mining of ores, processing of metals, petrochemical
industry and chemical processing.
(ii) Waste discharged from electroplating, steel manufacturing, leather tanning,
electronics and automobiles, pulp and paper industry, textile industry, etc.
(iii) Other activities include agricultural practices and atmospheric deposition.
These anthropogenic activities considerably alter the biogeochemical cycles, affecting the terrestrial as well as aquatic ecosystem, thus becoming a universal threat to
the environment. The contaminants when released into the natural resources cause a
detrimental effect on human, animals, flora, fauna and microorganisms. Apart from
this, man compromise drinking water, food and air quality with greenhouse gases,
nuclear wastes, pesticides, heavy metals and hydrocarbon pollution (Löffler and
Edwards 2006; Rao et al. 2010; Azubuike et al. 2016). Human endeavours in the
manufacturing and improvement of economic goods and services for fulfilling the
needs of the population cannot be banned as they are mandatory for the survival of
humans on the planet earth. As a substitute, we must look for cleaner processes,
which lead to the formation of environmentally friendly things. We must concentrate
on our strategy for the declination and elimination of the existing pollution in the
422
G. Kaur et al.