Env

ironment
alpol
l
utantandMi
crobi
alI
nter
act
ion
Micr obi albiodegr edationist heuseofbi oremedi ati
onandbi otr
ansf ormati
onmet hods
tohar nesst henat ur al
lyoccur ri
ngabi l
ityofmi crobialxenobioti
cmet aboli
sm todegr ade,
tr
ansf orm oraccumul ateenv i
ronment alpol l
utants,includi
nghy drocarbons( e.g.oi l
),
poly chlor i
nated bi pheny ls( PCBs),pol yar omat ic hydrocarbons ( PAHs) ,het erocy cli
c
compounds( suchaspy ri
dineorqui nol i
ne) ,phar maceut i
calsubst ances,radionucl ides
andmet al
s.
Biologi calpr ocesses pl aya maj orr olei nt he remov alofcont aminants and t ake
adv ant ageoft hecat aboli
cv ersat
il
ityofmi croorganismst odegr adeorconv ertsuch
compounds. I n env ironment al mi crobi ology , genome- based gl obal studies ar e
i
ncr easi ngt heunder standingofmet abol i
candr egulatorynetworks, aswellaspr ov iding
new i nformat ionont heev ol
utionofdegr adat ionpat hway sandmol ecul
aradapt ation
strategi estochangi ngenv ironment al condi ti
ons.
Env ironment al pollutantandmi crobial i
nteract ioncanbedepi ctedinf oll
owingf orms:
1-Bi oremedi ation
2-Bi odegr adat ion
3-Andbi ot ransf ormationet c.

Mi
croor
gani
sms
Processofbi oremedi ationi nv olvesv ariousmi cr oorgani smst hatar eabl et odegr ade
andr educet oxici
tyofenv i
r onment alpollutants.Ther efore, thei nteract
ionsofmi crobes
witht heenv ironmentandpol lutantsar esi gnificantindet ermi ningeffectivenessof
bi
oremedi ati
on.Those mi crobes can be ei thernat ur all
y pr esenti nt he si te of
bi
oremedi ati
onori sol atedf rom ot hersi t
esandi noculat edar tif
icial
ly.Biodegradat i
on
oft
enoccur saspar tofmi crobialmet abolism andi nsomecases,mi crobesar eabl eto
di
rectlyharvestcar bonandener gybybr eakingdownpol lut ants.Sect i
onsbel owgoov er
bacteriaandf ungi,thecommonl yusedor ganismsi nbior emedi ati
on.
Therear ealsonat uralf ormsofcont aminat i
onfr om nor malbi ologicalprocesses, which
i
nclude:
1.Weat heri
ngofmi ner alsov ert ime
2.Erosionandv ol
cani cact ivi
ties
3.Forestfir
esandbi ogenicsour ce
4.Par t
icl
esreleasedbyv eget ation
Bact
eri
a
Bact
eri
a ar
e wi del
y div
erse organi
sms,and t
hus make excel
l
ent pl
ayer
s in
bi
odegr
adat
ionandbior
emediat
ion.Ther
earef
ewuniv
ersalt
oxi
nst
obact
eri
a,sother
e
i
sl i
kelyanor ganism abl et obr eakdownanygi vensubst r
ate,whenpr ov idedwi t
ht he
ri
ghtcondi ti
ons( anaer obicv ersusaer obicenv ironment ,suf f
icientel ect rondonor sor
accept ors,et c.
).Below ar ef ew speci esofbact eri
awhi chef f
icientlycanpar t
ici
pat ein
bioremedi ationi ntermsofenv ir
onment al pollutantandmi crobial i
nteract ion.
 Pseudomonasput i
dai sagr am- negat ivesoi lbacter i
um t hati si nv olvedi nt he
bioremedi ati
on oft oluene,a componentofpai ntt hi
nnerand some ot her
pollut
ant s.
 Dechl or omonas ar omat ica i sar od-shaped bact erium whi ch can oxi dize
aromat i
csincludi ngbenzoat e, chlorobenzoat e,andt oluene, coupl ingt her eaction
withther educt ionofoxy gen, chl orate, ornitr
ate.
Nitri
fi
er sandDeni tri
fiers
Mostofi ndust r
ialwast ewat ert reatmentsy stemsr elyonmi crobialact iv i
tyt or emov e
unwant edmi neralnitrogencompounds( i
.e.ammoni a,nitr
ite,ni t
rate).Ther emov alof
nitr
ogeni sat wost agepr ocesst hati nv olvesni tr
ifi
cati
onanddeni trification.Dur ing
nitr
ifi
cation,ammoni um i soxi dizedt oni tri
tebyor ganismsl ikeNi t
rosomonaseur opaea.
Then, nitri
teisf urt
heroxi dizedt oni tratebymi crobesl keNi
i trobact erhambur gensi s.
Inanaer obiccondi t
ions,ni tratepr oduceddur i
ngammoni um oxi dationi susedasa
terminalel ect r
onaccept orbymi crobesl ikePar acoccusdeni tri
ficans.Ther esultisN2
gas.Thr ough t hispr ocess,ammoni um and ni tr
ate,two pol lutantsr esponsi blef or
eutrophicat i
oni nnat ural wat ers,arer emedi ated.
Fungi
(My
cor
emedi
ati
on)
Cur r
entbi oremedi at ionappl i
cat ionspr imar ilyut il
izebact er ia,wi thcompar ativ elyf ew
attempt st o usef ungi .Fungihav ef undament allyimpor tantr olesbecauseoft heir
participationi nt hecy cl
ingofel ement sthr oughdecomposi tionandt r
ansf or mat i
onof
organi c and i nor gani c mat erials.These char acteristics can be t ransl at ed i nt o
appl i
cat i
ons f orbi or emedi ati
on whi ch coul d br eak down or gani c compounds and
reducet her isksofmet al s.Insomecases,f ungihav eanadv antageov erbact er i
anot
j
usti nmet abol icv ersat ili
tybutal sot heirenv ir
onment alr esi li
ence.Theyar eabl et o
oxidizeadi v erseamountofchemi calsandsur viveinhar shenv ir
onment alcondi tions
such asl ow moi st ur eand hi gh concent rat i
onsofpol l
ut ant s.Ther ef or e,f ungiar e
potent ial
lyanext remel ypower fultoolinsoi lbioremedi ationandsomev er sat ilespeci es
suchasWhi teRotFungihav ebeenahott opi cofr esear ch.Becauseusi ngf ungias
potent ialt r
eat mentofcont ami nants began i n 1985 when t he whi ter otspeci es
Phaner ochaet e chr y sospor i
um was di scov ered t o met abol i
ze mul ti
pl e key
env i
ronment alpol lutant s.Themosti mpor tantf eat ureoft hesef ungiist hei renzy mat ic
funct i
onalabi l
ityt omet abolizecompl exchemi cal ssuchasl i
gninandot heror gani c
pollutant sli
ke
pest i
cides,PAHs,di oxi ns,car bon t etrachlor i
de,and manyot herpol lutant s.Si mi lar
abili
tieswer el aterdi scov eredi not herwhi ter otf ungalspeci es.Inaddi tion,whi t
er ot
fungiar ehighl yadv ant ageousbecauset heydegr adel igni next racell
ular l
yt hroughi ts
hyphalext ensi on.These i nexpensi vef ungican t olerat e ext reme env ironment al
condi ti
ons,such aspH,t emper ature,and moi sturecont ent .Whi l
emanymi crobial
organi smst hatar eusedf orbi oremedi at i
onr equi repr e-condi ti
oni ngoft heenv ironment
forthem t osur vivein, whi t
er otf ungi candi rectlybeappl i
edi ntomostsy st ems.
Asper gi l
l
usandot hermoul dscanal sopl ayani mpor t
antr olei nconsor ti
abecauset hey
areadeptatr ecyclingst arches,hemi celluloses,cel l
uloses,pect insandot hersugar
pol
y mers.Someasper gi
l
liarecapableofdegradingmor erefr
actorycompoundssuch
as fats,oils,chit
in,and ker ati
n.Maxi mum decomposi ti
on occurs when therei s
suf
fici
entni t
rogen,ForAsper gi
l
lustheprocessofdegradati
onisthemeansofobt aining
nut
rients.Whent hesemoul dsdegradehuman-madesubst rat
es,theprocessusuallyis
cal
ledbi odeter
ior
ation.Bothpaperandt exti
les(cot
ton,jut
e,andl i
nen)arepar
ticularl
y
vul
nerabletoAsper gil
lusdegradati
on.
I
nor
gani
cPol
l
utant
s
Mosti nor gani cpol l
ut ant sar eduet ohumanact i
v i
ties.
Pol lut ant Sour ce
Ar seni c Pest icides, woodpr eser vat ives, biosol ids, or emi ni ngandsmel ti
ng
Paintsandpi gment s, plast icst abi l
izers, el ect roplat ing,phosphat e
Cadmi um
fertil
izers
Chr omi um Tanner ies, st eel i
ndust ries, f l
yash
Copper Pest i
ci des, fer ti
li
zer s, biosol ids, oremi ni ngandsmel t
ing
Mer cur y Gol dandSi l
v ermi ning, coal combust ion
Ni ckel Ef fluent, kit
chenappl iances, sur gical instrument s, aut omobi l
ebat t
eri
es
Aer i
al emi ssionf rom combust ionofl eadedf uel ,bat ter
ieswast e,
Lead
i
nsect icideandher bici des.
Toxi cmet alscanent ert heenv i
ronmental lli
fecy clest agesofmet alcompound.For
exampl e,met all eachi ngcanoccurf rom t hemi ni ngpr ocesst illt hedi sposalofmet al
wast es.
Howev eri nnat ure,themobi l
ityofmet alscomesf rom t hegeol ogi cal processest hatcan
ber eleasedi ntot hesoi landaquat icenv i
ronment st hatar ei nher ent lyofi ncapabl eof
beingdegr adedbyanynat uralpr ocedur es.Fungihav ev ar i
ousway sofi nt eract i
ngwi th
met als,someoft het echni quesar ei ncreasi ngordecr easi ngt hemobi lityofmet als,
sor ption,orev encel lul arupt ake.Af tert hemet alshav ebeenabsor bedt hef ungus,t hey
canchemi cal lyalter edt obest oredort ransl ocat edt hr ought hehy phaeandi ntov ar i
ous
plant st hatpar ticipat ei nsy mbi osis.
Heav ymet al scanbeabsor bed bymi crobesatcel lul
arbi ndi ng si t
es.Ext racel l
ular
poly mer soft hesemi crobescancompl exheav ymet alst hroughv ariousmechani sms.
These speci ali
zed mi croorgani sms can mi ner alize t he or gani c cont ami nant st o
met abol ici ntermedi at es,whi char eusedaspr imar ysubst rat esf orcel lgr owt h.The
mi crobespr evalenti nheav i
l
ymet al -
cont ami nat edsoi lcanal t ert heoxi dat ionst at eof
the heav y met als by i mmobi li
zing t hem,al l
owi ng t hem t o be easi lyr emov ed.
Bior emedi ationofheav ymet alsf rom mi cr obesi snotheav i
lyr esear ched, most l
yduet o
ani ncompl et eunder st andi ngoft hegenet i
csoft hemi crobesusedi nmet aladsor ption.
Geomi cr obi ology t akes a bet terl ook att he i nt eract ions bet ween mi crobes and
i
nor gani cmat er i
al.
Fact
orsAf
fect
ingRat
esofEnv
ironment
alPol
l
utantandmi
crobi
ali
nter
act
ion
Mi crobi
al minerali
zati
on/biodegr adati
onofrecalci
trantorganicpoll
utant
si sofgreat
env i
ronment alsignif
icanceint ermsofenv i
ronment alpoll
utantandmi cr
obial
i
nt eract
ionandi nvolvesintri
guingnov elbi
ochemi calreacti
ons.
Biodegradat i
onmaybei nfluencedbypH,t emper ature,moistur
e,carbonsour ces,soi
l
texture,aerobicv er
susanaer obicconditi
ons,t henumberofsubst i
tuents,and the
concent rat
ionoft hepol l
utant.Itisimpossi
ble,howev er,t
omakeagener al
izat
ionabout
thebestuni versal conditi
onsf orbiodegradati
on.
Agr eateramountofsubst i
tuentswi l
lcauseslowerdegradati
oninaer obicenvir
onment s,
butf asterdegr adat i
oninanaer obicones.Chlorinemakesamol ecul
el essdegradabl e
duet osteri
chi ndrancepr eventi
ngaccesst onecessaryenzymes,t herefor
emol ecules
withhi gherchlorinat i
onar eslowert odegradeinaerobicconditi
ons.Highconcent r
ation
ofapol l
utantgener al
lyresultsinfasterrat
esofdegr adat
ion.Iftheconcentrati
ondr ops
below at hresholdconcent rati
on,t heenzy mesmaynotdet ecti tandwi llceaset o
degr adeit.
Soilwi thsmal lpor es,especiall
ycl ays,maycausebi odegradati
ont otakey earsduet o
thedecr easei nbioav ail
abili
ty.Chlori
nemakesamol eculelessdegr adableduet oster i
c
hindrancepr eventing necessar yenzy mesf rom accessing thecompound,t herefore
mol eculeswi thhigherchl ori
nationar esl
owert odegrade.
Pr
imar
ysubst
rat
eut
il
izat
ion
Primarysubstrat
eutil
izat
ionoccur
swhenami crobebot
ht r
ansformsasubst r
ateand
usesi tasanener gyorcar bonsource.Itcanbeanaerobicoraer obi
c,al
thoughthe
presenceofoxy gentendstospeedupr eact
ions.Thi
sform ofbiodegr
adat
ioncanbe
usedf ort
reat
ingpetr
oleum spil
l
sortherunoffofanumberofpestici
des.
Co-
met
abol
i
sm (
Secondar
ySubst
rat
eUt
il
izat
ion)
Co-met abol
ism involvesthet r
ansformationofachemi calbyanor gani
sm whi l
et he
organism usesadi fferentsubst
anceasi tsprimaryener gyorcar bonsource.Thi sisa
techniqueoftenusedwhent hesubst r
atebyitselfi
sconsi derednon-bi
odegr adable,
and
canonl ybetransformedwi thanothercompound.
A keyexampl e ofco met abol
ism isf ort
uitousmet abolism int he degr adat
ion of
tri
chloroet
hylene,showni nt hediagram below.Anor gani cgrowt hsubstratesuchas
propaneorbut aneisr equi
redfortheenzymat i
cactivi
tyt hattransf
ormsTCE.

Reduct
iveandHy
drol
yti
cDehal
ogenat
ion
Chlor
ideandot herhalogensar ecommoncomponent sofpest i
cidesandhazar dous
i
ndustrialwastes,andbyremov ingthem thetoxicchemicalcanof t
enber emedi ated.If
thehalogenisr epl
acedbyahy drogen( RCl->RH),thenitisr
eductivedehal ogenation.If
twohalogensar er
eplacedsimultaneously,
thentheprocessiscalleddi haloeli
mination,
alt
houghi tsti
l
lf al
lsunderreductivedehalogenati
on.Ifthehalogeni sr eplacedbyOH
(RCl-
>ROH)t heni t
’shydrol
yti
cdehal ogenati
on.Inbothcases,thehal ogeni sreleased
asi
tsi
nor
gani
cfor
mint
otheenv
ironment
.
Accl
i
mat
ion
An accl i
mation per i
od,also called an adapt ation orl ag period,occur s when no
destructi
onofagi venchemi cali
sobser ved.Itiscausedbyt hemi crobest r
ansi t
ioni
ng
totheiralt
eredenv i
ronmentandshi fti
ngt heirmet abol
ism tobettersuiti
t.Itcanl astfor
anywher efrom hour s(suchasar omat i
ccompoundsi nwar m,oxy genatedsoi l
s)t o
mont hs(suchashal obenzoatesinanaer obi csedi ment s)dependingont hechemi calin
quest i
onandt heenv ironment.Acclimationper i
odscanbeaf f
ectedbyt emper ature,t
he
presenceofoxy gen,pH,andconcent rationoft hesubst ance.Insecti
cidesandsome
herbici
desandpol ycy cli
caromatichy dr
ocar bonsi ncl
udingnaphthaleneandant hracene;
andot herchemi cal
ssuchasphenol ,chl orobenzene,PCP,di phenyl-
met hane,andNTA
haveal lbeenr eportedt ohaveaccl i
mat ionper iods,andt hi
scanbeofsev erehuman
concer n.
Det
oxi
fi
cat
ionandAct
ivat
ion
Det oxi cat i
on,somet imes cal l
ed det oxificat i
on,has been r eferred t o as t he “ most
i
mpor tantr oleofmi croor gani smsi nt het ransf ormat ionofpol l
utant s” .Thepr ocessi s
thechangi ngofamol ecul ei ntosomet hingl esshar mf ult oaspeci esi nquest i
on.Ther e
are a number of way s a mol ecul e can be t ransf ormed,i ncl uding hy drolysis,
hydr ox ylat i
on, dehal ogenat ion, demet hy lati
on, met hy lati
on, and et her cl eav age.
Fur ther mor e,al t
houghsomet i
mest her esul ti
ngchemi calissi mpl yexcr et edaswast e,
theor gani sm mayal sobeabl et ouset hi snewcompoundasacar bonsour ceorf ur t
her
modi fiesi tunt ilitisr eleasedasCO2.
Ther ear einst anceswher et hei niti
alcompoundi shar ml ess,andi nf actt hesubst ance
producedbymi croor gani sms,orani nt
er medi atei nthedegr adationpr ocess,i sat oxin.
Thi spr ocessi scal ledact iv ation.Fort hisr eason,i ti si mpor tantt ot estal lstepsofa
react ionwhendet er mi ninghowacompoundi sdegr adi ng.Thenewt oxi nsmayal sobe
mor eorl essmobi l
et hani tspr edecessor ,soi tcanei t
herst i
ckar oundonear eaf or
extendedper iodsoft imeorspr eadt oot herar easandi ncreasedamage e. gVi ny l
Chl or i
de( aknowncar cinogen) .
Bioav ailability,chemot axis, andt ranspor tofpol lutants
Bioav ailability,ort heamountofasubst ancet hati sphy siochemi cal lyaccessi blet o
mi cr oorgani smsi sakeyf act ori nt heef ficientbi odegr adat i
onofpol lutant s.Chemot axi s,
ort hedi r
ect edmov ementofmot i
leor gani smst owar dsorawayf rom chemi cal sint he
env ironmenti sani mpor tantphy siologicalr esponset hatmaycont ributet oef fect i
v e
cat abol ism of mol ecul es i nt he env ironment .In addi t
ion,mechani sms f ort he
i
nt racel lularaccumul ationofar omat icmol ecul esv iav ar i
oust ranspor tmechani smsar e
alsoi mpor tant .
Oil biodegr adat ion
Pet roleum oi lcont ainsar omat i
ccompoundst hatar et oxi ct omostl ifef or ms.Epi sodi c
andchr onicpol lutionoft heenv i
ronmentbyoi lcausesmaj ordi srupt iont ot hel ocal
ecol ogi calenv i
ronment .Mar i
neenv ironment sinpar ti
cul arar eespeci allyv ulnerabl e,as
oilspi l
lsnearcoast alr egi onsandi ntheopenseaar edi f
ficulttocont ainandmake
mi tigat i
onef fortsmor ecompl icat ed.Despi tei tst oxicity,aconsi der ablef r
act i
onof
pet roleum oi lent er ingmar inesy stemsi sel i
mi natedbyt hehy dr ocar bon- degr ading
act i
v it
iesofmi crobial communi ties.
Chol ester ol biodegr adat ion
Manysy ntheticst eroidi ccompoundsl i
kesomesexualhor monesf requent l
yappeari n
muni cipalandi ndust ri
alwast ewat ers,act ingasenv ironment alpol lutant swi thst rong
met abol icact i
v i
ti
esnegat i
v elyaf fect i
ngt heecosy stems.Mostofst udiesl iesont he
biotechnol ogicalappl icati
ons of st erolt ransf ormi ng enzy mes f or t he i ndust rial
synt hesi s ofsexualhor mones and cor ticoids.Ver yr ecent ly,t he cat abol i
sm of
chol est er olhasacqui redahi ghr elev ancebecausei tisi nv olvedi nthei nfecti
v i
tyoft he
pat hogenMy cobact erium t uber culosi s(Mt b) .Mt bcausest uber culosi sdi sease,andi t
hasbeendemonst ratedt hatnov elenzy mear chitect ureshav eev olvedt obi ndand
modi fyst eroidcompoundsl i
kechol est
er oli nt hisor gani sm andot herst eroid-ut i
lizing
bact er iaaswel l.
Anal ysi sofwast ebi otreatment
Sust ai nabl edev elopmentr equi rest hepr omot ionofenv ironment almanagementanda
const antsear chf ornew t echnol ogiest ot reatv astquant i
ti
esofwast esgener at edby
i
ncr easi ngant hropogeni cact ivities.Bi otreat ment ,thepr ocessi ngofwast esusi ngl iving
organi sms, isanenv ir
onment allyf r
iendly ,rel ativelysi mpl eandcost -
effect i
v ealternat ive
to phy si co-chemi calcl ean-upopt ions.Conf inedenv i
ronment s,suchasbi or eact or s,
hav ebeenengi neeredt oov ercomet hephy si cal, chemi cal andbi ological l
i
mi ti
ngf act ors
ofbi ot reat mentpr ocessesi nhi ghlycont r olledsy stems.Thegr eatv ersati
lit
yi nt he
desi gnofconf inedenv i
ronment sal lowst het reat mentofawi der angeofwast esunder
opt i
mi zedcondi ti
ons.
Met abol icengi neeringandbi ocat aly ti
cappl icat i
ons
Thest udyoft hef ateofper sist entor ganicchemi calsi nt heenv ironmenthasr ev ealeda
l
ar ger eser voirofenzy maticr eact i
onswi thal argepot entiali npr epar ativeor gani c
synt hesi s,whi chhasal r
eadybeenexpl oi tedf oranumberofoxy genasesonpi lotand
evenoni ndust r
ialscal emai nl ybyempl oy ingsy stemsbi otechnol ogyandsy nt het i
c
biology .
Whati sPubl icHeal th

Publichealthreferst o" t
hesci enceandar tofprev ent i
ngdi sease,pr olongi ngl i
feand
promot i
ng heal t
ht hrough or gani zed ef f
orts and i nformed choi ces of soci et
y,
organizati
ons,publicandpr iv
at e,communi t
iesandi ndivi
duals.I tisconcer nedwi t
h
threatstohealthbasedonpopul ationheal thanalysis.Thepopul ationi nquest i
oncanbe
assmal lasahandf ulofpeopl e,orasl argeasallt hei nhabitantsofsev eralcont i
nent
s
(forinst
ance,inthecaseofapandemi c)
.Thedi mensi onsofheal thcanencompass" a
stateofcompl etephy sical
, ment alandsoci alwell
-bei ngandnotmer elyt heabsenceof
diseaseorinfir
mity",asdef inedbyt heUni tedNati
ons' Wor l
dHeal t
hOr gani zati
on.Publi
c
healthincorporat
est hei nterdi
sci plinar yapproachesofepi demi ol
ogy ,bi ostatist
icsand
health servi
ces.Env ironment alheal th,communi tyheal t
h,behav ioralheal th,healt
h
economi cs,publi
cpol icy,insur ancemedi ci
ne,ment alheal t
handoccupat ionalsafety
andheal t
har eotherimpor tantsubf ields.