Pesticide Bioremediation: an Approach for Environmental Cleanup Using Microbial Consortia

RAIMONDO EE; SAEZ MJ; BRICEÑO MUÑOZ G; FUENTES MS; AMOROSO MJ; BENIMELI C.S.

Strategies for Bioremediation of Organic and Inorganic Pollutants

CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group

Año: 2018; p. 108 - 129

For many years, organochlorine pesticides were used to combat agricultural pests and disease vectors. However, the inappropriate use of them has produced different forms of environmental pollution that affect the soil, water and air, representing a risk to health and the environment due to its toxicity, bioaccumulation, volatility and persistence.Effective methods based on the use of microorganisms, such as natural attenuation, cell immobilization, production of biosurfactants and bioaugmentation have been developed for the removal of chlorinated pesticides. It is important to highlight that actinobacteria have been used in bioremediation processes because they have the ability to remove organic and inorganic pollutants. On the other hand, several researchers demonstrated that the bioaugmentation of soils with a microbial defined or a native consortium increases the necessary catabolic paths for pollutant elimination, accelerating the degradation of xenobiotic compounds.This chapter compiles works focused in the use of defined and native microbial consortia consisting of bacteria, fungi or mixtures of both, in a free or immobilized way, for the bioremediation of different organochlorine pesticides from diverse systems. In addition, the simultaneous removal of lindane, chlordane and methoxychlor from different matrices by employing a native Streptomyces consortium was discussed in the present chapter.