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Biotechnological Approaches to the Bioremediation of an Environment Polluted with Trinitrotoluene

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Abstract

The review covers the strategies for the biodegradation of a dangerous pollutant of the environment, an explosive 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene. The characteristics of the metabolism of this compound in microorganisms under aerobic and anaerobic conditions and the main enzymes involved in the transformation are described. The main class of enzymes involved in the destruction of trinitrotoluene are nitroreductases; oxidases, hydrogenases, and peroxidases may also be involved in degradation. Several approaches to the biodegradation of trinitrotoluene in the environment have been singled out and discussed: bioaugmentation of the biomass of TNT-destructor strains and consortia of microorganisms that degrade this compound; stimulation of the autochthonous microflora of polluted natural environments via the introduction of additional substrates for microorganism growth and electron donors for the reduction of trinitrotoluene; pollutant biodegradation by immobilized cells of microorganisms in bioreactors and biofilters; phytoremediation and the application of preventive measures consisting of the introduction of spores and lyophilisates of bacteria with biodegradation activity in a mixture containing nitroaromatic compounds.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The work was supported by Russian Foundation for Basic Research and Perm Region (project no. 16-44-590359).

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  1. Institute of Ecology and Genetics of Microorganisms, 614000, Perm, Russia

    Yu. G. Maksimova, A. Yu. Maksimov & V. A. Demakov

  2. Perm State National Research University, 614990, Perm, Russia

    Yu. G. Maksimova, A. Yu. Maksimov & V. A. Demakov

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  1. Yu. G. Maksimova
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Translated by A. Ostyak

Abbreviations: TNT—trinitrotoluene; UV—ultraviolet radiation; COD—chemical oxygen consumption; SIGEX—substrate-induced gene expression.

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Maksimova, Y.G., Maksimov, A.Y. & Demakov, V.A. Biotechnological Approaches to the Bioremediation of an Environment Polluted with Trinitrotoluene. Appl Biochem Microbiol 54, 767–779 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0003683818080045

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