Chapter 4 - Effects of xenobiotics and their biodegradation in marine life

Abstract

Aquaculture is a most promising food production industry aimed at high production through current intensive aquaculture practices. However, it has a detrimental impact on the aquatic environment, particularly due to the release of high concentrations of ammonia and nitrogen, which are highly toxic to aquatic animals, and can ultimately cause severe disease problems. In addition, polluted water contains various detrimental contaminants, namely, organic compounds, disinfectants, pesticides, and antibiotics. These contaminants also have a detrimental impact on the health of various living beings including humans and aquatic organisms. The development of an aquaculture industry, with minimal detrimental contaminants in water bodies can be achieved only by adopting effective and eco-friendly approaches, including bioremediation. Bioremediation is known to be a cost-effective, nature-friendly, and safe technology, which can improve water quality and maintain the health and stability of aquaculture systems, and offers an innovative way to clean up hazardous waste. Therefore, in this chapter, we provide descriptive information of various microorganisms involved in the biodegradation of a wide range of toxic organic pollutants, applications, and suggestions required to overcome the limitations to their efficient use.