Microorganisms in Dehalogenation: Regulation and Enhancement

About this Research Topic

Background

The vast majority of halogenated organic compounds are persistent, insoluble in water, and toxic to living organisms. The main route of their contamination is through soil and groundwater, where they spread through groundwater flow and accumulate at aquifer bottoms due to gravity, forming a persistent source of pollution. Microorganisms play an important role in driving the Earth's biochemical cycles, and can also facilitate the transformation of halogenated organic pollutants in the environment. However, the degradation of halogenated organic pollutants by microorganisms alone is often inefficient. Not only is the degradation rate low but sometimes more toxic substances are produced. Therefore, microorganisms, functional materials, and other technologies must be integrated for enhanced degradation and detoxification of halogenated organic contaminants.

Microbial modulation of enhanced dehalogenation by functional substances still faces several challenges. First, the synergistic interaction between functional substances and microorganisms is key to mechanistic investigation. The surface properties of functional substances significantly affect microbial attachment, growth, and metabolic activity. Functional materials with appropriate surface activity and biocompatibility can provide good biocarriers that encourage microorganisms to form biofilms on their surfaces. The presence of such biofilm helps to improve the contact and adsorption of halogenated compounds by microorganisms, thus increasing the dehalogenation efficiency. Secondly, the formation of active sites is a key step. Functional substances provide the active sites that carry out pollutant removal by adsorption, activation, and catalysis. These sites can be specific metal centers, functional groups, or structural defects. Under microbial mediation, the active sites can undergo activation, regeneration, and catalytic cycling, a process that requires in-depth study. Understanding the formation and evolution of active sites can guide the design and improvement of functional materials.

Systematic studies of the dynamics of functional compounds, microbial adaptations, and synergistic effects throughout the dechlorination process are essential. In the future, this information will shed light on bioremediation and the chemical industry through biotechnological innovation.

This Research Topic will include research articles, perspectives, and reviews focusing on, but not limited to, the following areas:

1. Microbial dehalogenation in groundwater and soil ecosystems and analysis of its products.
2. Microbial (Shewanella oneidensis MR-1, Geobacter, etc.) enhancement and regulation of the degradation of halogenated organic compounds by dehalogenating bacteria and analysis of their products.
3. Enhancement of microbial dehalogenation by genetic engineering.
4. Materials (biochar, zero-valent iron, etc.), electrochemical techniques, etc. to improve the control of microbial degradation of halogenated organic compounds and their product analysis.
5. Analysis of metabolic pathways, reaction conditions, and mechanisms of microbial dehalogenation enhanced by different methods.

Keywords: Microbe, Halogenated hydrocarbons, Dehalogenate, Enhance, Regulate

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