Microorganisms in The Polluted Soil

Dear Colleagues,

Soil microorganisms perform many vital processes and participate in the maintenance of soil health and quality. They play a crucial role in organic matter turnover, nutrients release, and stabilization of the soil structure and ensure soil fertility. The homeostasis of soil may be disturbed by organic and inorganic contaminants including pesticide, heavy metals, toxic hydrocarbons, antibiotics, etc. The antimicrobial activity of these chemicals in soil may differentially inhibit the growth of soil microorganisms and thus influence the soil microbial community composition, which may result in alterations of the ecological functionality of the soil. The fast response and sensitivity of microorganisms to contaminants contribute to the fact that microbial parameters are thought to be useful indicators for the assessment of soil fertility and quality status.

In this context, this Special Issue of Microorganisms welcomes researchers all over the world to contribute with original articles, as well as reviews addressing the latest knowledge about:

• the impact of contaminants on the community structure as well as the genetic and functional diversity of soil microorganisms;
• the specific markers and methods for studying the effect of contaminants on soil microorganisms;
• the use of molecular tools for monitoring the changes in microbial communities of contaminated soils;
• the fate and activity of microorganisms involved in the degradation of contaminants; and

the bioremediation of contaminated soils by inoculating of specific microorganisms and their ecological behavior including the survival dynamics and the interaction with indigenous microorganisms

Dr. Mariusz Cycoń
Guest Editor

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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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.