Advancement of omics: Prospects for bioremediation of contaminated soils

Abstract

The soil is a complex mixture of organic matter and minerals, supporting a discrete array of life. Severely polluted soils have been detoxified using a variety of microorganisms. Bioremediation is a process of removal of environmental contaminants utilizing microbes through a variety of enzymatic processes. In situ processing, high public acceptance, and a comparatively lower cost hasten the overall process of bioremediation. However, it is not always effective due to its relatively long time scales and the variable range of contaminants. Varying degrees of success rate have been noticed at different sites worldwide. This chapter attempts to link the traditional and cutting edge technologies such as metagenomics, metatranscriptomics, metaproteomics, and metabolomics to numerous bioremediation techniques as they play a symbolic role in the study of the regulation of numerous mineralization pathways. Extensive data are being generated using these techniques, but their application is still in the infant stage. A stepwise organization of data is needed within the instructive databases. Microbial-assisted contaminant attenuation and in-depth analysis of the organism’s metabolism will accelerate the overall process of bioremediation. Thereafter, the next decade will going to decipher the cellular mechanisms and molecular manipulations using an integrated omic tool approach.