Bioaugmentation of biomixtures with consortia of actinobacteria and fungi for improving pesticides removal

Abstract

Biopurification systems (BPS) were developed to treat agricultural effluents containing high concentrations of pesticides. Biomixture is the biologically active component of BPS, where the degradation of pesticides takes place at faster rates than in soil; hence the selection of its components is crucial to ensure efficient pesticide removal. Besides, bioaugmentation with mixed microbial cultures is an interesting approach for the optimization of these systems. Here, we describe the formulation of a biomixture and its bioaugmentation with the mixed culture of the fungus Trametes versicolor SGNG1 and Streptomyces sp. A2, A5, A11, and M7, designed based on previously demonstrated ligninolytic and pesticide-degrading activities and the absence of antagonism among the strains. Our aim is to provide the reader with guidelines on how to select a mixed actinobacteria-fungal consortium for bioaugmenting biomixtures contaminated with a pesticide and how to evaluate the efficiency of the process through different parameters (total heterotrophic microorganisms, residual lindane concentration, and kinetic parameters of pesticide removal).