Molecular approach to uncover the function of bacteria in petrochemical refining wastewater: A mini review

Abstract

Water is one of the most important resources in the universe. This is due to the fact that all life processes require the use of water. The rate at which petrochemical refineries release wastewater is alarming, and needs to be stoped. Many attempts to improve the efficiency of treatment methods of petrochemical refining wastewater have been made, among which bioremediation is considered an emerging advancement. Bioremediation incentivized the identification and characterization of most bacteria responsible for the breakdown of petrochemical refinery wastewater pollutants. The use of genomic approach (DNA and RNA sequence) in the identification of these bacteria is widely accepted. However, proteins and metabolites as functional entities in a cell are gaining less attention but could still be used to give an accurate insight into how Bacteria respond to pollutants in refinery wastewater. This review aims to find out the present trend and predicting the future prospect of the concept of a molecular genetics approach to uncover the function of bacteria present in refinery wastewater. The review presents literature that identified and characterized bacteria responsible for the degradation of pollutants in petrochemical refining wastewater using culture methods and molecular methods, such as the genomic, metabolomic and proteomic approach. The research hereby recommends the need for further research on a molecular approach to uncover the function of bacteria in petrochemical refinery wastewater using metaproteomic and metabolomic approach.