Latest Advances in the Microbial Degradation of Hazardous Organic Contaminants

Dear Colleagues,

The development of modern technologies leads to the continued saturation of the environment with various organic and inorganic compounds, the diversity and quantity of which are constantly increasing. The large-scale and long-term use of naturally, synthetically, and unintentionally produced organic compounds turns them into hazardous pollutants, with different resistances to biotic and abiotic decomposition in the environment. For example, despite their natural origin, large volumes of oil production, transportation, and processing all over the world have made petroleum hydrocarbons one of the largest and most dangerous pollutants. The widespread use of synthetic pesticides, pharmaceuticals, and plastics also increases the water and land areas contaminated with them. Phenols, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and heterocyclic compounds such as phenol, pyridine, p-nitrophenol, trichloroethylene, and dimethyl phthalate (DMP) are a major environmental problem around the world. In addition, the scale of environmental pollution is increasing with a new generation of persistent organic pollutants, including polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE), polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs), and perfluorochemicals (PFCs). The persistence of such compounds, classified as persistent organic pollutants (POPs), in the environment represents a long-term danger to human and wildlife health. The biological decomposition of hazardous organic pollutants caused by living organisms is the only way to counteract their accumulation in nature. The purposeful use of flexible metabolic processes of microorganisms makes it possible to ensure the complete and cost-effective removal of pollutants from the environment.

This Special Issue of Microorganisms welcomes original research and review articles that present the latest advances in the microbial degradation of hazardous organic contaminants. The topics that fit the scope of the Special Issue are as follows:

- Taxonomic diversity of microorganisms degrading hazardous organic contaminants.

- Degradation pathways (including enzymes and metabolites) of hazardous organic contaminants.

- Influence of biotic (interactions of microorganisms with plants, fungi, and among themselves) and abiotic (environmental conditions and the presence of various additives) factors on the degradation of hazardous organic contaminants.

- Selection and study of microorganisms degrading new synthetic compounds.

- Genomics as a way for improving biodegradation of hazardous organic contaminants.

- Use of metagenomics, metatranscriptomics, metabolomics, and metaproteomics to predict the catabolic potential of microorganisms in a polluted environment.

Papers on other relevant topics are also welcome.

Dr. Anna Muratova
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Microorganisms is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

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