Pesticide bioremediation: an approach for environmental cleanup using microbial mixed cultures

Abstract

Microbial consortia have shown to be more appropriate than pure cultures to reach the complete mineralization of toxic and dangerous chemical compounds, such as pesticides, or their transformation to nontoxic products. For this reason, microbial consortia have been reported as suitable tools for their use in bioremediation processes. This chapter summarizes the most relevant information available on the use of defined and native mixed cultures to remove and/or degrade organochlorine pesticides and mixtures of them in different systems.