Chapter 14 - Role of cloning and modification of genes in pesticide decomposition

Abstract

Pesticides are of the essence in agriculture to ensure a good yield. However, it does come with its disadvantages. The most important being their persistence in the environment. Pesticides often fail to get thoroughly degraded, and often, the products of their mineralization are also toxic. Adverse health and ecological consequences are a result of bioaccumulation and biomagnification of these xenobiotics in the ecosystem. While there are many methods for the remediation of contamination sites for pesticides/obsolete pesticides, most of them have disadvantages. Many pre-existing remediation methods are labor-intensive, difficult to carry out in a typical environment, or lead to the release of secondary products that are also persistent and toxic like the primary contaminant. These disadvantages contribute to the need for bioremediation, which includes the environmentally-friendly processing of pesticides by microbes. Researchers use molecular technologies such as gene cloning to modify microbial genes to facilitate microbe-mediated pesticide degradation. In this paper, we will mention the pre-existing molecular engineering methods and expand upon the various technological advancements that have taken place in the context of pesticide degradation. The paper will explore the limitations of the listed methods and look into what advancements we can look forward to for pesticide degradation in the future. In addition to this, the paper will also review the genes involved in microbial pathways of pesticide degradation and will highlight their role in the process of mineralization