Bioremediation is the use of microorganisms' metabolism to degrade waste contaminants (sewage, domestic, and industrial effluents) into non-toxic or less toxic materials by natural biological processes. Remediation through fungi—or mycoremediation—has multifarious possibilities in applied remediation engineering and the future of environmental sustainability. Fungi have the biochemical and ecological capability to degrade environmental organic chemicals and to decrease the risk associated with metals, semi-metals, noble metals, and radionuclides, either by chemical modification or by manipulating chemical bioavailability. Additionally, the capability of these fungi to form extended mycelia networks, the low specificity of their catabolic enzymes, and their using pollutants as a growth substrate make these fungi well suited for bioremediation processes. Their mycelia exhibit the robustness of adapting to highly limiting environmental conditions often experienced in the presence of persistent pollutants, which makes them more useful compared to other microbes. However, despite dominating the living biomass in soil and being abundant in aquatic ecosystems, fungi have not been exploited for the bioremediation of such environments. This book covers the various types of fungi and associated fungal processes used to clean up waste and wastewaters in contaminated environments and discusses future potential applications.

This edited book details the plant-assisted remediation methods, which involves the interaction of plant roots with associated rhizospheric microorganisms for the remediation of soil and water contaminated with high levels of heavy metals, pesticides, radionuclides, agricultural by-products, municipal wastes, industrial solvents, petroleum hydrocarbons, organic compounds, and various other contaminants. Each chapter highlights and compares the beneficial and economical alternatives of phytoremediation to currently practiced soil, water, and air removal. This book covers state-of-the-art approaches in phytoremediation contributed by leading and eminent scientists from across the world. Phytoremediation approaches for environmental sustainability dealing the readers with a cutting-edge of multidisciplinary understanding in the principal and practical approaches of phytoremediation from laboratory research to field application. This book is of interest to researchers, teachers, environmental scientists, environmental engineers, environmentalists, and policy makers. Also, the book serves as additional reading material for undergraduate and graduate students of environmental microbiology, biotechnology, eco-toxicology, environmental remediation, waste management, and environmental sciences as well as the general audience.

Enzyme Biotechnology for Environmental Sustainability discusses recent applications of enzyme biotechnology in various industrial sectors and state-of-the-art information on novel microbial enzyme technologies for a sustainable environment. The book describes in detail the latest developments and modern methods in microbial enzyme biotechnology for wider application in bioremediation, cleaner technology for industries and waste management, green chemistry and pharmaceutical biotechnology, sustainable textiles, food production and biodegradation, and other industries. The chapters cover topics such as genetic engineering, protein engineering, nanotechnological advances of microbial enzymes, computational tools for engineering enzymes, and health risk assessment of enzymes in different sectors. With contributors from an array of experts in the field, Enzyme Biotechnology for Environmental Sustainability is an informative reference for researchers, biotechnologists, microbiologists, environmental scientists, graduate and post-graduate students working in the area of enzyme technology and their biomedical, environmental, and industrial applications. - Includes new-methods and up-to-date information on modern methods with respect to its application in pharmaceuticals, textiles, food fermentation, and many other related fields - Provides in-depth information about the recent applications of enzyme biotechnology in different industrial sectors - Focuses on the rapid developments and biotechnological advances in microbial enzymology to enhance industrial and environmental sustainability

Volume 3 covers recent research with expanded coverage on this important area of remediation. Mycoremediation is the form of bioremediation in which fungi-based technology is used to decontaminate the environment. Fungi are among the primary saprotrophic organisms in an ecosystem, as they are efficient in the decomposition of organic matter. Wood-decay fungi, especially white rot, secretes extracellular enzymes and acids that break down lignin and cellulose. Fungi have been proven to be a very cost-effective and environmentally-friendly way for helping to remove a wide array of toxins from damaged environments or wastewater. These toxins include heavy metals, persistent organic pollutants, textile dyes, leather tanning industry chemicals and wastewater, petroleum fuels, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, pharmaceuticals and personal care products, pesticides and herbicides, in land, fresh water and marine environments. Bioremediation of toxic organics by fungi is the most sustainable and green route for cleanup of contaminated sites and we discuss the multiple modes employed by fungi for detoxification of different toxic and recalcitrant compounds including prominent fungal enzymes viz., catalases, general lipase, laccases, peroxidases and sometimes intracellular enzymes, especially the cyrochrome P450 monooxygeneses. Fungi play an important role in the biogeochemical cycling of manganese and other redox-active metals, which is related to their ability to survive radiation and other oxidative challenges. This book covers recent research with more detail on the various types of fungi and associated fungal processes used to clean up wastes and wastewaters in contaminated environments, and discusses their potential for environmental applications.

Biosurfactants and Sustainability A timely and authoritative collection of resources on the sustainable production of biosurfactants In Biosurfactants and Sustainability, a team of distinguished researchers presents emerging themes in the rapidly evolving field of biosurfactants. The editors have chosen work that focuses on biosurfactants as eco-friendly and versatile compounds of interest in societies seeking sustainable forms of development. The book examines biosurfactants in the context of biorefineries and in the exploration of extremophilic microorganisms for biosurfactant production. The included works discuss biosurfactant production from different lignocellulosic and amylaceous raw materials, as well as oilseeds and other agro-industrial byproducts. Readers will also find: A thorough introduction to microorganisms producing biosurfactants, as well as sustainable biosurfactant production in biorefineries Comprehensive explorations of the challenges of biosurfactant production in fermentation processes Practical discussions of bioreactors and metabolic engineering used in biosurfactant production Fulsome treatments of biosurfactant production using enzyme and novel biosurfactant applications in nanotechnology, health, agriculture, and environmental cleanup Perfect for researchers and professionals with an interest in biosurfactant application and biotechnology processes, Biosurfactants and Sustainability will also benefit academic researchers, industry scientists, and engineers in biotechnology, microbiology, biomass conversion, environmental science and engineering.

The present book, Bioremediation for Sustainable Environmental Cleanup, has a compilation of seventeen chapters comprehensively describing the state-of-the-art on emerging bioremediation approaches employed for sustainable environmental clean-up of diverse environmental pollutants such as metal(loid)s, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, dyes, pesticides, petroleum hydrocarbons, etc., by using bacteria, fungi, algae, higher plants, and novel materials like biohybrids, nano-biomaterials, and graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4). Different bioremediation strategies such as biosorption, bioprecipitation, bioaccumulation, biodegradation, biotransformation etc. have been described in detail. The emphasis throughout, however, is on sustainable environmental clean-up. Eminent researchers from various countries located in diverse geographical areas, including Argentina, Canada, Germany, India, Pakistan, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America, have contributed towards the chapters of this book.

Fungi Bio-prospects in Sustainable Agriculture, Environment and Nanotechnology, Volume Two: Extremophilic Fungi and Myco-mediated Environmental Management explores varied aspects of fungal biology and their relevance in microbiology and agriculture, thus allowing for better insights on basic and advanced biotechnological application in human welfare and sustainable agriculture. Chapters throw light on different sectors of fungi, including fungi in extreme circumstances, bioremediation, complex and toxic effluents, and mycoremediation. The book was designed to explore the possibility of huge fungal diversity for present and future generation in different sectors of human life. Volume Two focuses on extremophilic fungi and myco-mediated environmental management. - Summarizes various aspects of fungi in the field of microbiology, sustainable agriculture, nano-technology and environment - Describes the molecular approaches and gene expression of fungi - Provides a deeper understanding of fungi that could be articulated in various fields

Microbes are ubiquitous in nature. Among microbes, fungal communities play an important role in agriculture, the environment, and medicine. Vast fungal diversity has been associated with plant systems, namely epiphytic fungi, endophytic fungi, and rhizospheric fungi. These fungi associated with plant systems play an important role in plant growth, crop yield, and soil health. Rhizospheric fungi, present in rhizospheric zones, get their nutrients from root exudates released by plant root systems, which help with their growth, development, and microbe activity. Endophytic fungi typically enter plant hosts through naturally occurring wounds that are the result of plant growth, through root hairs, or at epidermal conjunctions. Phyllospheric fungi may survive or proliferate on leaves depending on material influences in leaf diffuseness or exudates. The diverse nature of these fungal communities is a key component of soil-plant systems, where they are engaged in a network of interactions endophytically, phyllospherically, as well as in the rhizosphere, and thus have emerged as a promising tool for sustainable agriculture. These fungal communities promote plant growth directly and indirectly by using plant growth promoting (PGP) attributes. These PGP fungi can be used as biofertilizers and biocontrol agents in place of chemical fertilizers and pesticides for a more eco-friendly method of promoting sustainable agriculture and environments. This first volume of a two-volume set covers the biodiversity of plant-associated fungal communities and their role in plant growth promotion, the mitigation of abiotic stress, and soil fertility for sustainable agriculture. This book should be useful to those working in the biological sciences, especially for microbiologists, microbial biotechnologists, biochemists, and researchers and scientists of fungal biotechnology.

This edited book deals with latest comprehensive information on conventional and high throughput techniques and technologies that are recently used to study plant microbial interface for agricultural research and enhancing plant productivity. Plant microbiota are important for many plant growth promotion activity and agricultural productivity and are sustainable green technology for enhancing agricultural productivity under changing environment. The book covers recent information about the plant associated microbiota and their ecology. It discusses technologies to isolate and test microbiota inhabiting in different portion of plants. The book explores the conventional methods as well as the most recently recognized high throughput technologies which are important for productive agroecosystems to feed the growing global population. This book is of interest to teachers, researchers, microbiologist, plant and environmental scientist and those interested in environment stewardship around the world. Also the book serves as additional reading material for undergraduate and graduate students of agriculture, forestry, ecology, soil science, and environmental sciences and policy makers to be a useful to read.

Bioremediation is the use of microorganisms' metabolism to degrade waste contaminants (sewage, domestic, and industrial effluents) into non-toxic or less toxic materials by natural biological processes. Volume 2 offers new discussion of remediation through fungi—or mycoremediation—and its multifarious possibilities in applied remediation engineering and the future of environmental sustainability. Fungi have the biochemical and ecological capability to degrade environmental organic chemicals and to decrease the risk associated with metals, semi-metals, noble metals, and radionuclides, either by chemical modification or by manipulating chemical bioavailability. Additional expanded texts shows the capability of these fungi to form extended mycelia networks, the low specificity of their catabolic enzymes, and their use against pollutants as a growth substrate, making these fungi well suited for bioremediation processes. Their mycelia exhibit the robustness of adapting to highly limiting environmental conditions often experienced in the presence of persistent pollutants, which makes them more useful compared to other microbes. Despite dominating the living biomass in soil and being abundant in aquatic ecosystems, however, fungi have not been exploited for the bioremediation of such environments until this added Volume 2. This book covers the various types of fungi and associated fungal processes used to clean up waste and wastewaters in contaminated environments and discusses future potential applications.