Cleaning up behind us. The potential of genetically modified bacteria to break down toxic pollutants in the environment.

Abstract

These days the terms genome and genomics elicit an instant association with the human genome and the potential benefits for human health that might be squeezed out if it. This is a bit surprising for a microbiologist. Of course, we humans will be the main beneficiaries but what is the actual significance of the human genome in the general context of the biosphere? For instance, in terms of enzymatic diversity, our DNA barely contains enough information to use just a few of the carbon sources that occur in nature. There is no way that we can resist abrupt environmental changes or brusque physico‐chemical challenges—let alone nutrient starvation, exposure to heavy metals, lack of oxygen or high/low pressure—with this limited metabolic outfit. How can we deal with the increasingly evident deterioration of the environment brought upon us by our very own actions? It is time to recognise that the main—perhaps the only—chance of counteracting the devastating consequences of our activities on the environment lies in the largely unexplored genetic pool of the microbial world. > It is time to recognise that the main chance of counteracting the devastating consequences of our activities on the environment lies in the largely unexplored genetic pool of the microbial world. Bacteria are the most successful life forms on this planet, being able to colonise the most extreme and diverse biotopes. Many bacteria cope with life with only 1% of the number of genes that a human cell carries within its nucleus. But such a limited amount of genetic information is exploited in the most refined manner, encoding all imaginable devices that are needed at the molecular, physiological and cellular levels to survive and proliferate. Bacteria are particularly good at consuming an amazingly large variety of chemicals as carbon and energy sources. They also employ a large …