Bacterial Degradation of Pollutants: Can We Still Save Nature

Dear Colleagues,

Increasing quantities of various pollutants still contaminate air, soil, agricultural lands, and water bodies. In recent years, managing pollution of Nature has become one of the major challenges we are facing. The large list of toxic contaminants of the environment includes, e.g., organic compounds, such as petroleum-derived chemicals, aliphatic and (poly)aromatic hydrocarbons, oxygenated and halogenated compounds including polychlorinated biphenyls, nitroaromatics, heterocyclic compounds, nitriles, and various pesticides. Of the inorganic harmful agents, chemicals containing heavy metals are the most distinctive. Plastic nanoparticles and toxic molecules derived from their further natural decomposition represent a specific group of pollutants intensively studied currently. All these pollutants pose potential serious threats to the ecosystem and human health. Exposure to these contaminants in the environment can lead to broad health damage to human organs and the central nervous system. Some compounds are also known or suspected to cause mutations, birth defects, and cancer. Besides conventional physicochemical methods such as incineration and solvent extraction, developing biotechnological approaches promise to provide efficient, cheap, and eco-sustainable solutions.

Bacteria proved to be ubiquitous microorganisms that may tolerate or resist many toxic compounds, degrade them, and even use them as a source of carbon and energy. It is, therefore, possible to accelerate the acquisition of knowledge on bacteria-mediated biodegradation and apply the findings in the development of advanced bioremediation. Bacteria may be harnessed in this biotechnology as indigenous or genetically engineered strains, individually or in consortia, or in bacterial–fungal or bacterium–plant interactions. Recent progress in sequencing, genome editing technologies, integrated -omics methods, advanced analytics combined with great computational potential, and the use of AI has moved the biodegradation research to a higher level. Integrated solutions may result in advanced biotechnologies for the cleanup of the environment and saving Nature for further sustainable life.

The aim of this Special Issue is to bring a wide view on the up-to-date knowledge and current trends of the bacterial degradation potential. The Editors of this Special Issue of Microorganisms invite you to submit manuscripts concerning any aspect of the bacterial biodegradation, bioremediation, and biotransformation of toxic compounds contaminating the environment and their use in biotechnology.

Dr. Miroslav Pátek
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• bacterial degradation
• pollution
• bacteria-mediated biodegradation
• bioremediation
• biotransformation
• toxic compounds