Basic Concepts in Environmental Biotechnology

Neetu Sharma, Abhinashi Singh Sodhi, Navneet Batra, Neetu Sharma, Abhinashi Singh Sodhi, Navneet Batra

• Publisher: CRC Press
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN: 9780367674694
• eBook ISBN: 9781000431230
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Medicine
• Subtopic: Biotechnology

The book includes current and emerging concepts in the areas of environmental biotechnology such as pollution sources, control and measurement, solid waste management, bioremediation, biofuels, biosensors, bioleaching, conservation biotechnology and more. The book also includes recent innovations made in this field and incorporates case studies to help in understanding the concepts. This book applies principles from multidisciplinary sciences of environmental engineering, metabolic engineering, rDNA technology and omics to study the role of microbes and plants in tackling environmental issues. It also includes content related to risk assessment and environmental management systems. Each chapter provides problems and solutions of different topics with diagrammatic illustrations and tables for students, researchers and other professionals in environmental biotechnology.

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• Explores cutting-edge technologies, including nanotechnology-based bioremediation, value-added products from waste and emerging techniques related to environmental risk assessment and monitoring

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• Reviews the current methods being applied in the environment field for pollution control, waste management, biodegradation of organic and inorganic pollutants and so on

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• Provides in-depth knowledge of the latest advancements in the field of environmental biotechnology such as bioleaching, biomining and advances in biotechnology-based conservation of biodiversity

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• Introduces undergraduate and post-graduate students to basic concepts of environmental biotechnology and allied fields

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• Discusses different products such as biofuels, biopolymers and biosensors that are being produced using biotechnological methods, thus contributing towards the goal of sustainable development

Dr. Neetu Sharma is Assistant Professor in the Department of Biotechnology, GGDSD College, Chandigarh, India. The main thrust of her research centers on biotechnology, bioremediation and nanotechnology.

Abhinashi Singh Sodhi is Assistant Professor in the Department of Biotechnology, GGDSD College, Chandigarh, India. His current research focuses on waste reduction, valorization and bioproduct formation.

Dr. Navneet Batra is Associate Professor and Head, Department of Biotechnology, GGDSD College, Chandigarh, India. He has extensive academic and research experience of over 20 years with specialization in biotechnology and biochemical engineering.

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Environmental Biotechnology

An Overview

Sonu Bhatia and Jagtar Singh

DOI: 10.1201/9781003131427-1

CONTENTS

1.1 Introduction

1.2 Bioremediation as a Tool for Environmental Biotechnology

1.3 Generation of Alternative Energy Sources

1.4 Molecular Approach for Controlling Environmental Pollution

1.4.1 Omics in Tackling Environmental Pollution

1.4.1.1 Metagenomic Approach

1.4.1.2 Metatranscriptomic Approach

1.4.1.3 Metaproteomic Approach

1.4.1.4 Monitoring the Pollutants

1.5 Biomining

1.6 Biopesticides and Biofertilizers

1.7 Environmental Biotechnology Informatics

1.8 Environmental Legislations and Their Role in EMS

1.9 Challenges and Future Aspects

1.10 Conclusion

1.1 INTRODUCTION

Large-scale urbanization and industrialization has led to environmental pollution and deterioration. Over the decades, different types of conservation strategies have been employed to preserve global resources, but no fundamental solution has been attained. In this context, governmental agencies and the scientific community have been exploring the applications of biotechnology to address the unresolved environmental issues. Biotechnology is paving the way for environmental protection by becoming a significant part of the governmental policies aimed at achieving the goals of sustainable development. Environmental biotechnology plays a pivotal role in unfolding the primary structural and functional link between the environment and its inhabitants. Information obtained from different approaches, including bioremediation, rDNA technology and omics, is being applied widely to redefine the microbial abilities for environmental betterment.

Thus, environmental biotechnology is defined as a scientific discipline using biological processes to control or resolve environment-related issues, including remediation of contaminated sites, pollution monitoring, renewable and eco-friendly energy source generation, and so on (Figure 1.1).

FIGURE 1.1 Environmental biotechnology applications.

The Following Are the Common Environmental Issues Being Faced by the World

1. Industrial effluents
2. Air pollution
3. Soil contamination
4. Greenhouse gas emission
5. Radioactive waste
6. Land degradation

1.2 BIOREMEDIATION AS A TOOL FOR ENVIRONMENTAL BIOTECHNOLOGY

Bioremediation is a promising approach that makes use of microorganisms and their processes to curb different environmental issues. Conventional methods for waste treatment are either less efficient or involve the use of chemicals, thus not an environment-friendly approach. Microorganism-based methods are an eco-friendly approach due to the use of biological entities. Bacteria, fungi, yeast and algae are used as a whole cell, or their metabolites are applied for the treatment of various environmental contaminants. Microbial enzymes are being used to treat various industrial effluents from, textile industry, pharmaceutical industry, chemical industry, petroleum refineries and radioactive waste.

Bioremediation is a cost-effective and noninvasive method to restore the environment. Microorganisms can be used to degrade the complex organic and inorganic pollutants into simpler and less toxic forms or altogether remove them from the site. A list of some selected microorganisms are mentioned in Table 1.1.

TABLE 1.1 List of Some Selected Pollutant-Degrading Microorganisms

Sr. No.	Microorganism	Targeted Pollutants	References
1.	Arthrobacter nicotinovorans	Pesticides	Aislabie et al.,2005
2.	Asp ergillus flavus	Heavy metal	Akhtar et al., 2013
3.	Aspergillus niger	Oil	Damisa et al.,2013
4.	Bacillus subtilis	PAHs	Kotoky et al., 2017
5.	Cladosporium sp.	Aromatic hydrocarbon	Birolli et al.,2017
6.	Doratomyces nanus	Polychlorinated biphenyls	Mouhamadou et al., 2013
7.	Entewbactersp.	Pesticides	Singh et al.,2004
8.	Flavodon flavus	Bleaching effluent	Raghukumar, 2004
9.	Geobacillus thermodenitrifican	Aliphatic hydrocarbon	Abbasian et al., 2015
10.	Gordonia sihwensis	Aliphatic hydrocarbon	Brown et al., 2016
11.	Marasmillius sp.	PAHs	Vieira et al., 2018
12.	Microbacterium sp.	Heavy metals	Coretto et al., 2015
13.	Mucor racemosus	PAHs	Passarini et al., 2011
14.	Mycobacterium sp.	PAHs	Chauhan et al.,2008
15.	Phanerochaete chrysosporium	Azo dyes	Cripps et al., 1990
16.	Pseudomonas putida	PAHs	Lee et al., 2018
17.	Sphingomonas sp.	PAHs	Ghosal et al.,2016
18.	Tintoporia barbonica	Paper and pulp industry effluent	Fukuzumi et al., 1977
19.	Trichoderma sp.	Dye	Jebapriya and Gnanadoss, 2013

1.3 GENERATION OF ALTERNATIVE ENERGY SOURCES

For ages, humans have remained depended on conventional fossil fuels to fulfill their energy demands. But fossil fuels, due to their limited stock, will be exhausted shortly. Therefore, the search for clean alternative energy fuels with similar or improved energy output has shifted the world’s focus on environmental biotechnology. Microorganisms have been studied for their role in the synthesis of clean fuel commonly known as biofuels. The conventional biofuels include bioethanol, bio-diesel and biohydrogen fuels.

1.4 MOLECULAR APPROACH FOR CONTROLLING ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION

The gradual development of molecular tools has significantly enhanced our ability to understand different microbe-based bioremediation mechanisms. Tools and techniques, including randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD), amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP), polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and electrophoresis, have been employed to derive precise information related to metabolism and the biogeochemical cycle of microbes in the environment. PCR-DGGE-(polymerase chain reaction denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis) and PCR-TGGE (polymerase chain reaction temperature gradient gel electrophoresis) have been employed to assess degradation pathways of bacterial communities in a bioremediation process. Pesticide-contaminated sites in soil have been assessed for microbial diversity by using RAPD, which has also been used to identify viruses and to study their diversity.

1.4.1 OMICS IN TACKLING ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION

The detailed study of microbial habitat can be helpful in understanding the natural biodegradation processes and improving their ability to decontaminate the site. In recent times, molecular tools like next-generation sequencing (NGS) are being applied extensively to curb environmental pollution by monitoring and studying the microbial community composition of the contaminated site. The efficient biodegradation mechanism involves knowledge about the indigenous microbial community and pollutant type and concentration. There are many omics-based approaches, including metagenomics, transcriptomics and proteomics, and they can be employed for understanding the complex biodegradation mechanisms. These approaches, in combination with bioinformatics, provide detailed information related to genome, growth profile, metabolism, protein profile and environmental abilities of unculturable...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Foreword
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Contributors
• Abbreviations
• Chapter 1 Environmental Biotechnology: An Overview
• Chapter 2 Air Pollution: Causes, Effects and Control of Pollutants
• Chapter 3 Soil Pollution: Sources, Control and Treatment Measures
• Chapter 4 Water Pollution: Sources, Control and Treatment Measures
• Chapter 5 Noise Pollution
• Chapter 6 Solid Waste Management: Source and Treatment
• Chapter 7 Bioremediation: Concepts and Application
• Chapter 8 Biopesticides and Biofertilizers: Trends, Scope and Relevance
• Chapter 9 Biosensors for Environmental Monitoring
• Chapter 10 Bioleaching and Biomining: Concept, Applications and Limitations
• Chapter 11 The Degradation of Organic and Inorganic Pollutants
• Chapter 12 Conservation of Biodiversity by Biotechnology
• Chapter 13 Environmental Risks and Concerns of Biotechnology
• Chapter 14 Biofuel: Production, Applications and Challenges
• Chapter 15 Bioplastics: Origin, Types and Applications
• Chapter 16 Environmental Risk Monitoring Assessment and Management
• Bibliography
• Index