Prognostication of Bioremediation Requisite Around Industrially Contaminated Environment: A Review

Abstract

Background: Noxious effects of heavy metal pollution on environment have created an alarming situation for human life and aquatic biota and a consequent want for focus on an effort for remediation, because of its high persistence, non-degradable nature, high toxicity and bioaccumulation tendency. Further, heavy metals cannot be converted into non-toxic forms and can only be transformed into less toxic species. Cement dust includes heavy metals like nickel, cobalt, lead, chromium and many other pollutants unsafe to the biotic surroundings, with unfavorable effects on plants, human and animal fitness and ecosystems. Objective: In the present work, research objectives were to study heavy metal pollution, with a view to establish the contamination status of soil, from cement dust contaminated soils/sediments from various locations around different cement industrial zones in Satna region. The main purpose of this research was to emphasize on the efforts and requisites towards microbial consortium-enhanced bioremediation of heavy metals by bacteria and then study microbial diversity profile through shotgun metagenomics approach. Methods: For this, the isolation of heavy metal tolerant bacterial strains, biostimulation of native strains of microorganisms (bacterial strains) for heavy metal degradation and evaluation of bioaugmented mediated microbial consortium-enhanced bioremediation potential of selected bacterial strains as individual isolates and/or their consortium at the laboratory scale level and then at a large scale were carried out. Result: Through these efforts, in the future, novel efficient tolerant species and their consortium could be explored which could have great bioremediation potential for the uptake of heavy metals from cement dust contaminated soil/sediments, near areas of cement and other industries in Satna region. This review article confirms the prognostication of bioremediation in Satna region. Conclusion: This small vision and efforts of bioremediation could prove to be a small beneficial step and lead to an overall improvement of the socio-economic condition of the locality of Satna and the nearby region. This could be very beneficial for residential people by creating a healthy environment. Soil metagenomics initiatives might be a useful resource to the scientific community and will provide a much greater understanding of microbial diversity and functions in the soil.