Application of Molecular Microbiology Techniques in Bioremediation of Hydrocarbons and Other Pollutants

Molecular microbiology techniques have revolutionized microbial ecology by paving the way for rapid, high-throughput methods for culture-independent assessment and exploitation of microbial communities present in complex ecosystems like crude-oil/hydrocarbon polluted soil. The soil microbial community is relatively diverse with a high level of prokaryotic diversity. This soil species pool represents a gold mine for genes involved in the biodegradation of different classes of pollutants. Currently, less than 1% of this diversity is culturable by traditional cultivation techniques. The application of molecular microbiology techniques in studying microbial populations in polluted sites without the need for culturing has led to the discovery of novel and unrecognized microorganisms and as such complex microbial diversity and dynamics in contaminated soil offer a resounding opportunity for bioremediation strategies. The combination of PCR-amplification of metagenomic DNA, microbial community profiling techniques and identification of catabolic genes are ways to elucidate the composition, functions and interactions of microbial communities during bioremediation. In this review, an overview of the different applications of molecular methods in bioremediation of hydrocarbons and other pollutants in environmental matrices and an outline of the recent advances in this fast-developing field are given.