Biological treatments to remediate polluted sites have many advantages from economical, environmental, and practical aspects. These bioremediation processes comprise the partial or full breakdown of organic contaminants into non- (or less) toxic chemicals and the immobilization –precipitation and adsorption-, mobilization, and/or transformation of metal(loid)s. Extremophiles surviving in hostile environments with high concentrations of pollutants are usually suitable for those bioremediation processes due to the different resistance strategies they have developed to grow under such environmental conditions. Culture dependent and independent techniques, more recent omics, and microscopic technologies are suitable tools to achieve a deeper understanding of those processes that is necessary for their systematic and efficient application.
The aim of this Research Topic of Frontiers in Microbiology is to provide an appropriate platform to publish the last results in this area, describing different aspects in the bioremediation by extremophilic pure cultures or consortia of bacteria, archaea, fungi, or yeasts. Different approaches to follow the microbial consortia along the bioremediation processes, metabolic and physiological interactions between extremophiles and pollutants, new processes of bioremediation or biodegradation, novel pathways or enzymes involved in bioremediation processes, functional genomics and/or proteomics used to describe the microbial responses to the pollutants, will be welcome. Not only full papers but also reviews can be submitted.
Biological treatments to remediate polluted sites have many advantages from economical, environmental, and practical aspects. These bioremediation processes comprise the partial or full breakdown of organic contaminants into non- (or less) toxic chemicals and the immobilization –precipitation and adsorption-, mobilization, and/or transformation of metal(loid)s. Extremophiles surviving in hostile environments with high concentrations of pollutants are usually suitable for those bioremediation processes due to the different resistance strategies they have developed to grow under such environmental conditions. Culture dependent and independent techniques, more recent omics, and microscopic technologies are suitable tools to achieve a deeper understanding of those processes that is necessary for their systematic and efficient application.
The aim of this Research Topic of Frontiers in Microbiology is to provide an appropriate platform to publish the last results in this area, describing different aspects in the bioremediation by extremophilic pure cultures or consortia of bacteria, archaea, fungi, or yeasts. Different approaches to follow the microbial consortia along the bioremediation processes, metabolic and physiological interactions between extremophiles and pollutants, new processes of bioremediation or biodegradation, novel pathways or enzymes involved in bioremediation processes, functional genomics and/or proteomics used to describe the microbial responses to the pollutants, will be welcome. Not only full papers but also reviews can be submitted.
