Significance of microbial genome in environmental remediation

Environmental pollutants seriously threaten the ecosystem and health of various life forms, particularly with the rapid industrialization and emerging population. Conventionally physical and chemical strategies are being opted for the removal of these pollutants. Bioremediation, through several advancements, has been a boon to combat the existing threat faced today. Microbes with enzymes degrade various pollutants and utilize them as a carbon and energy source. With the existing demand and through several research explorations, Genetically Engineered Microorganisms (GEMs) have paved to be a successful approach to abate pollution through biore-mediation. The genome of the microbe determines its biodegradative nature. Thus, methods including pure culture techniques and metagenomics are used for analyzing the genome of microbes, which provides infor-mation about catabolic genes. The information obtained along with the aid of biotechnology helps to construct GEMs that are cost-effective and safer thereby exhibiting higher degradation of pollutants. The present review focuses on the role of microbes in the degradation of environmental pollutants, role of evolution in habitat and adaptation of microbes, microbial degenerative genes, their pathways, and the efficacy of recombinant DNA (rDNA) technology for creating GEMs for bioremediation. The present review also provides a gist of existing GEMs for bioremediation and their limitations, thereby providing a future scope of implementation of these GEMs for a sustainable environment.

Automated summary

Environmental pollutants pose a significant threat to the ecosystem and various life forms, especially in the face of rapid industrialization and population growth. Bioremediation, utilizing microbes and their enzymes to degrade pollutants, has emerged as an effective strategy. Through the advancements in genetic engineering, Genetically Engineered Microorganisms (GEMs) have proven successful in bioremediation by utilizing the catabolic genes obtained through pure culture techniques and metagenomics analyses. This review highlights the role of microbes in pollutant degradation, their evolutionary adaptation, the importance of microbial degradative genes, and the efficacy of recombinant DNA technology in creating GEMs for bioremediation.