MOLECULAR TOOLS FOR MICROBIAL REMEDIATION - CONTAMINANTS UPTAKE, METABOLISM AND BIOSENSING

Abstract

Microbial remediation has been used mainly for treatment of two types of pollutants -organic compounds (such as hydrocarbons originating from petroleum or solvents originating from various industries) and heavy metals. Molecular tools serve to improve the microbial processes in several ways – they contribute to optimization of the processes by genetic manipulations of the microorganisms, they improve the yield of bacterial products used for bioremediation (such as emulsifiers). In addition, molecular tools provide the means for constructing biosensors for monitoring the bioremediation processes.