Actinobacteria: Current research and perspectives for bioremediation of pesticides and heavy metals

ALVAREZ A; SAEZ MJ; DAVILA COSTA JS; COLIN VL; FUENTES MS; CUOZZO SA; BENIMELI CS; POLTI MA; AMOROSO MJ

CHEMOSPHERE

PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2017 vol. 166 p. 41 - 62

0045-6535

Actinobacteria exhibit cosmopolitan distribution since their members are widely distributed in aquaticand terrestrial ecosystems. In the environment they play relevant ecological roles including recycling ofsubstances, degradation of complex polymers, and production of bioactive molecules. Biotechnologicalpotential of actinobacteria in the environment was demonstrated by their ability to remove organic andinorganic pollutants. This ability is the reason why actinobacteria have received special attention ascandidates for bioremediation, which has gained importance because of the widespread release ofcontaminants into the environment. Among organic contaminants, pesticides are widely used for pestcontrol, although the negative impact of these chemicals in the environmental balance is increasinglybecoming apparent. Similarly, the extensive application of heavy metals in industrial processes lead tohighly contaminated areas worldwide. Several studies focused in the use of actinobacteria for cleaningup the environment were performed in the last 15 years. Strategies such as bioaugmentation, biostimulation,cell immobilization, production of biosurfactants, design of defined mixed cultures and theuse of plant-microbe systems were developed to enhance the capabilities of actinobacteria in bioremediation.In this review, we compiled and discussed works focused in the study of different biore-mediation strategies using actinobacteria and how they contributed to the improvement of the alreadyexisting strategies. In addition, we discuss the importance of omic studies to elucidate mechanisms andregulations that bacteria use to cope with pollutant toxicity, since they are still little known in actinobacteria.A brief account of sources and harmful effects of pesticides and heavy metals is also given.