Chapter 11 - Synergism in microbial communities facilitate the biodegradation of pesticides

Abstract

Pesticide is a well-known material that is used to control the occurrence of numerous pests, weeds, and plant diseases in crops around the world. Despite the benefits of pesticides in agriculture, they are often seen as hazardous for the environment due to their persistence as well as abnormal phenomena. Therefore, the elimination of pesticides from the habitat is an interesting area for investigators. Currently, microbes have become a prevailing tool for the degradation and remediation of pesticides, in-situ. Compared with simple physical and chemical treatment, biological treatment, especially microbial treatment, is an effective and environmentally friendly treatment method. At present, most of the research papers on the microbial treatment of pesticides are presented as single bacteria. The biological disturbance produced by single bacteria added to complex soil and other environments is short-lived and will soon be covered by indigenous microorganisms. The compound microbial agents can not only occupy the soil niche rapidly but also play a key role in the degradation of pesticides in soil and other environments. This review will analyze the molecular mechanism of synergistic degradation of pesticides by mixed microorganisms or consortia (including material-microbial, microbial-microbial, microbial-plant) in the degradation process of various pesticides (including organophosphorus pesticides, organochlorinated pesticides, atrazine pesticides, pyrethroid pesticides, and other insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides) and understand the interaction and symbiosis between the mixed strains. Moreover, the genes/enzymes, pathways, processes and aspects influencing the biodegradation have displayed in this chapter.