AUTHOR=Arora Pankaj Kumar 

TITLE=Bacilli-Mediated Degradation of Xenobiotic Compounds and Heavy Metals

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology

VOLUME=8

YEAR=2020

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/bioengineering-and-biotechnology/articles/10.3389/fbioe.2020.570307

DOI=10.3389/fbioe.2020.570307

ISSN=2296-4185

ABSTRACT=<p>Xenobiotic compounds are man-made compounds and widely used in dyes, drugs, pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, explosives, and other industrial chemicals. These compounds have been released into our soil and water due to anthropogenic activities and improper waste disposal practices and cause serious damage to aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems due to their toxic nature. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) has listed several toxic substances as priority pollutants. Bacterial remediation is identified as an emerging technique to remove these substances from the environment. Many bacterial genera are actively involved in the degradation of toxic substances. Among the bacterial genera, the members of the genus <italic>Bacillus</italic> have a great potential to degrade or transform various toxic substances. Many <italic>Bacilli</italic> have been isolated and characterized by their ability to degrade or transform a wide range of compounds including both naturally occurring substances and xenobiotic compounds. This review describes the biodegradation potentials of <italic>Bacilli</italic> toward various toxic substances, including 4-chloro-2-nitrophenol, insecticides, pesticides, herbicides, explosives, drugs, polycyclic aromatic compounds, heavy metals, azo dyes, and aromatic acids. Besides, the advanced technologies used for bioremediation of environmental pollutants using <italic>Bacilli</italic> are also briefly described. This review will increase our understanding of <italic>Bacilli</italic>-mediated degradation of xenobiotic compounds and heavy metals.</p>