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Microbially Driven Biodegradation and Biotransformation in Polluted Environmental Matrices

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A special issue of Microorganisms (ISSN 2076-2607). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Microbiology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 October 2023) | Viewed by 9309

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Giovanni Vallini

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Guest Editor

Department of Biotechnology, University of Verona, Strada Le Grazie 15 – Ca’ Vignal, 37134 Verona, Italy
Interests: microbial biodegradations and biotransformations; microbial interactions with metals/metalloids; plant-assisted bioremediation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Silvia Lampis

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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

E. Parales et al., in an illuminating 2002 minireview, underlined how microorganisms, by interacting with chemicals, can make their living and how their activities can help humans make a living [1]. In such context, it was stated that the terms "biodegradation", "biotransformation", and "biocatalysis" all deal with the same thing: reactions that substantiate the microbial metabolism. Which term is properly used depends on the perspective by which individuals look at what is expected by the metabolic processes. If the interest deals with the abatement of environmental pollutants, we can speak about biodegradation or biotransformation. On the other hand, the microbial metabolism exploited by industrial processes to obtain useful products—even starting from effluents, residues or waste in a circular economy perspective—is regarded, time by time, again as a biotransformation or a biocatalytic reaction. The aim of this Special Issue of Microorganisms is to collect original contributions regarding the state of knowledge about the ability of specific microorganisms—whether they are archaea, bacteria or fungi—to cause the conversion, either aerobic or anaerobic, of important environmental pollutants to inorganic compounds or to end-products that are however not harmful to human health and ecosystems. Any advancement of knowledge in the field of microbial catalysis associated with the biodegradation/biotransformation of contaminants of ecological concern can actually found application in reliable protocols of bioremediation, namely the most cost-effective and acceptable technology for the detoxification of pollutant contaminated environmental matrices such as soils, sediments and groundwater.

Reference:

Parales, R. E.; Bruce, N. C.; Schmid, A.; Wackett, L. P. Biodegradation, Biotransformation, and Biocatalysis (B3). Environ. Microbiol. 2002, 68, 4699–4709.

Prof. Dr. Giovanni Vallini
Dr. Silvia Lampis
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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.

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.

Keywords

bioremediation
contaminated sites
environmental pollutants detoxification
microbial biodegradation
microbial biotransformation
microbial catalysis
pollutant-contaminated environmental matrices

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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15 pages, 3789 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An In Silico Bioremediation Study to Identify Essential Residues of Metallothionein Enhancing the Bioaccumulation of Heavy Metals in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

by Munazzah Tasleem, Wesam M. Hussein, Abdel-Aziz A. A. El-Sayed and Abdulwahed Alrehaily

Microorganisms 2023, 11(9), 2262; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms11092262 - 09 Sep 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1211

Abstract

Microorganisms are ubiquitously present in the environment and exert significant influence on numerous natural phenomena. The soil and groundwater systems, precipitation, and effluent outfalls from factories, refineries, and waste treatment facilities are all sources of heavy metal contamination. For example, Madinah, Saudi Arabia, has alarmingly high levels of lead and cadmium. The non-essential minerals cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) have been linked to damage to vital organs. Bioremediation is an essential component in the process of cleaning up polluted soil and water where biological agents such as bacteria are used to remove the contaminants. It is demonstrated that Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) isolated from activated sludge was able to remove Cd and Pb from water. The protein sequence of metallothionein from P. aeruginosa was retrieved to explore it for physicoparameters, orthologs, domain, family, motifs, and conserved residues. The homology structure was generated, and models were validated. Docking of the best model with the heavy metals was carried out to inspect the intramolecular interactions. The target protein was found to belong to the “metallothionein_pro” family, containing six motifs, and showed a close orthologous relationship with other heavy metal-resistant bacteria. The best model was generated by Phyre2. In this study, three key residues of metallothionein were identified that participate in heavy metal (Pb and Cd) binding, viz., Ala33, Ser34, and Glu59. In addition, the study provides an essential basis to explore protein engineering for the optimum use of metallothionein protein to reduce/remove heavy metals from the environment. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microbially Driven Biodegradation and Biotransformation in Polluted Environmental Matrices)

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14 pages, 3855 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Transformation of Hg²⁺ during Anaerobic S⁰ Reduction by an AMD Environmental Enrichment Culture

by Yuhang Zhou, Yue Liu, Hongchang Liu, Zhenyuan Nie, Yirong Wang and Lu Chen

Microorganisms 2023, 11(1), 72; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms11010072 - 27 Dec 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2644

Abstract

Mercury (Hg) is a highly toxic and persistent heavy metal pollutant. The acid mine drainage (AMD) environment in sulfide-mining areas is a typical Hg pollution source. In this paper, the transformation of Hg²⁺ during anaerobic S⁰ reduction by an AMD environmental enrichment culture was studied by multiple spectroscopic and microscopic techniques. The experimental results showed that the microbial S⁰ reduction of the AMD enrichment culture was significantly inhibited in the presence of Hg²⁺. The results of cell surface morphology and composition analysis showed that there was obvious aggregation of flocculent particles on the cell surface in the presence of Hg²⁺, and the components of extracellular polymeric substances on the cell surface changed significantly. The results of surface morphology and C/S/Hg speciation transformation analyses of the solid particulate showed that Hg²⁺ gradually transformed to mercuric sulfide and Hg⁰ under anaerobic S⁰ reduction by the AMD enrichment culture. The microbial community structure results showed that Hg²⁺ significantly changed the enrichment community structure by decreasing their evenness. The dominant microorganisms with S⁰ reduction functions are closely related to mercury transformation and are the key driving force for the transformation of substrate solid particulate and cellular substances, as well as the fixation of Hg²⁺. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microbially Driven Biodegradation and Biotransformation in Polluted Environmental Matrices)

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Review

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16 pages, 1981 KiB

Open AccessReview

Arsenic and Microorganisms: Genes, Molecular Mechanisms, and Recent Advances in Microbial Arsenic Bioremediation

by Vladimir U. William and Hilbert D. Magpantay

Microorganisms 2024, 12(1), 74; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms12010074 - 30 Dec 2023

Viewed by 1359

Abstract

Throughout history, cases of arsenic poisoning have been reported worldwide, and the highly toxic effects of arsenic to humans, plants, and animals are well documented. Continued anthropogenic activities related to arsenic contamination in soil and water, as well as its persistency and lethality, have allowed arsenic to remain a pollutant of high interest and concern. Constant scrutiny has eventually resulted in new and better techniques to mitigate it. Among these, microbial remediation has emerged as one of the most important due to its reliability, safety, and sustainability. Over the years, numerous microorganisms have been successfully shown to remove arsenic from various environmental matrices. This review provides an overview of the interactions between microorganisms and arsenic, the different mechanisms utilized by microorganisms to detoxify arsenic, as well as current trends in the field of microbial-based bioremediation of arsenic. While the potential of microbial bioremediation of arsenic is notable, further studies focusing on the field-scale applicability of this technology is warranted. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microbially Driven Biodegradation and Biotransformation in Polluted Environmental Matrices)

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29 pages, 18140 KiB

Open AccessReview

Use of Microbial Consortia in Bioremediation of Metalloid Polluted Environments

by Elham Lashani, Mohammad Ali Amoozegar, Raymond J. Turner and Hamid Moghimi

Microorganisms 2023, 11(4), 891; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms11040891 - 30 Mar 2023

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3122

Abstract

Metalloids are released into the environment due to the erosion of the rocks or anthropogenic activities, causing problems for human health in different world regions. Meanwhile, microorganisms with different mechanisms to tolerate and detoxify metalloid contaminants have an essential role in reducing risks. In this review, we first define metalloids and bioremediation methods and examine the ecology and biodiversity of microorganisms in areas contaminated with these metalloids. Then we studied the genes and proteins involved in the tolerance, transport, uptake, and reduction of these metalloids. Most of these studies focused on a single metalloid and co-contamination of multiple pollutants were poorly discussed in the literature. Furthermore, microbial communication within consortia was rarely explored. Finally, we summarized the microbial relationships between microorganisms in consortia and biofilms to remove one or more contaminants. Therefore, this review article contains valuable information about microbial consortia and their mechanisms in the bioremediation of metalloids. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microbially Driven Biodegradation and Biotransformation in Polluted Environmental Matrices)

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