Chapter 19 - Bioinformatics and computational tools in bioremediation and biodegradation of environmental pollutants

Abstract

Nature has the capability to maintain balance in environment. Rapid growth in industrialization has led to release of toxic chemicals into the environment. Microbial degradation is one of the economic methods for remediation of the polluted environment. Bioremediation/biodegradation and bioinformatics are the scientific areas in applied microbiology and biotechnology. Presently, several databases and prediction tools/approaches assist the development and application of bioremediation. The implementation of the in silico approach reduces time and basic laboratory experiments and is important in prediction of degradation pathways. Herein, we summarize the application of several bioinformatics tools, computational approaches, and omics approaches in analyzing the chemical and functional characteristics, toxicity prediction, and degradation pathways. In addition, detailed view of databases, web servers that may be implemented in the area of bioremediation and biodegradation are also mentioned.