Bacterial Bio-Resources for Remediation of Hexachlorocyclohexane

ALVAREZ, ANALÍA; BENIMELI, CLAUDIA S.; SÁEZ, JULIANA M.; FUENTES, MARÍA S.; CUOZZO, SERGIO A.; POLTI, MARTA A.; AMOROSO, MARÍA J.

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES

MOLECULAR DIVERSITY PRESERVATION INTERNATIONAL-MDPI

Lugar: Basel; Año: 2012 vol. 13 p. 15086 - 15106

1422-0067

In the last few decades, highly toxic organic compounds like the organochlorine pesticide (OP) hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) have  been released into the environment. All HCH isomers are acutely toxic to mammals.  Although nowadays its use is restricted or completely banned in most countries, it continues posing serious environmental and health concerns. Since HCH toxicity is well known, it is imperative to develop methods to remove it from the environment. Bioremediation technologies, which use  microorganisms and/or plants to degrade toxic contaminants,  have become the focus of interest. Microorganisms play a significant role in  the transformation and degradation of xenobiotic compounds. Many Gram-negative bacteria have been reported to have metabolic  abilities to attack HCH. For instance,  several Sphingomonas  strains  have been reported to degrade the pesticide.  On the other hand, among Gram-positive microorganisms, actinobacteria have a great potential for biodegradation of organic and inorganic toxic compounds.  This review compiles and updates the information available on bacterial removal of HCH, particularly by  Streptomyces strains, a prolific genus of actinobacteria. A brief account on the persistence and deleterious effects of these pollutant chemical is also given.