Introduction

The new millennium is considered as the age of biological. The various types of micro
organisms that include bacteria, viruses, and protozoans form part of the ecosystem and
also provide various ecosystems services such as purification of water, prevention of soil
erosion and floods and regulation of the climate.

In the last fifty years, industrial development has caused tremendous pollution of air,
water and soil. Recent studies have shown that bio-diversity has the capacity to save us
from the alarming rate of pollution. This may be done by providing suitable bio
indicators to monitor the ecosystems and to clean up the spoiled locations thorough
bioremediation.

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Biological monitoring of pollution

Biological monitoring is the use of organisms to assess pollution. It has developed very
much in the last few decades. Such organisms may be used as indicators for the
availability of a pollutant over time and may also be used to compare the levels of
contamination in different parts of the world. It is preferred to chemical and physical
monitors of pollution because the latter use expensive instruments and can be used at
only a limited number of sites.

Therefore, bioindicators can be defined as organisms that can be used to identify and
determine the quality of the environmental pollutants generated by human activities, and
biomonitors as organisms which determine the quantity of a specific pollutant.

In bimonitoring techniques, the choice of oraganisms and the method of data collection
and analysis must be oriented to identify the specific cause responsible for environmental
degradation, manifestations in the sensitive organism.

Lichens as biomonitors and bioindicators

During the last thirty years, many studies have shown the possibility of using lichens as
biomonitors of air pollution as lichens are sensitive to various environmental factors,
which cause changes in some of their components.

Lichens are considered the result of a symbiotic association of a fungus and an alga. The
alga is either a cyanobacteriae or a chlorophyceae and the fungus is usually an
ascomycetes. Therefore the alga is the concerned with the formation of nutrients as it
contains chlorophyll and the fungus supply the alga with minerals and water. Lichens
grow slowly and are very much dependent on the environment for nutrition.
Furthermore, they do not shed parts during their growth and lack cuticle and stoma.
Therefore the different contaminants are absorbed over the entire surface of the organism.

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The table below shows the role of lichens in different forms of pollution as bioindicators:

bioindicators environmental degradation by symptoms

Lichens  Acid rain Lethal symptoms of thallus
 Ammonium eutrophication (body), death reduction in

 Chlorinated hydrocarbons occurrence, frequency and

vitality
 Heavy metal contamination
 Oil spills
 Sulphur dioxide air
pollution
 radionuclide
Lichens  Climate change Bleaching of thallus and
 Ozone layer depletion production of

 UV radiation antisubmergenc,
antidessication and anti UV
 Water levels
substances

Lichen diversity and  Ecological continuity Modification in the

its ecology  Deciduous woodland occurrence and distribution

 Tropical rain forests pattern

 Coniferous forest

Lichens are already using lichens as biomonitors in countries like Italy and India. Some
environmental groups are also using fungi to monitor gaseous air pollution and alga to
monitor pollution in water bodies and in terrestrial vegetation.

Bioremediation of pollution

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It is the use of naturally occurring micro organisms in the soil and water to actively
degrade and remove the toxic and unwanted compounds and transferring them into
harmless substances. This is a very effective and useful way to clean the environment.

Bioremediation in petroleum pollution

Human activity often causes the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the
environment. It is a form of pollution and is often referred as marine oil spills, where oil
is released into the ocean or coastal waters.

Scientists have come with a strain of the Acinetobacter species more precisely
Acinetobacter baumannii to combat petroleum pollution. It is a gram-negative, strictly
aerobic, nonmotile, oxidase-negative short rod-shaped bacteria. The biodegradation of
hydrocarbon pollutants is done by adding uric acid which serves as a water-insoluble
nitrogen source for hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria by binding to crude oil.
Biodegradation of hydrocarbons in a harmless form have been used during the Exxon
Valdez spill and for crude oil spill in Bemidji, Minnesota in 1979.

Bioremediation of salinity

Salinity is responsible for major crop losses, particularly in semi-arid and irrigated
agriculture of India. High salinity in soil may result from excessive application of
chemical fertilizer. Usually sulphates, chlorides and bicarbonates of Na+, Mg2+, and Ca2+
contribute to the salinity of soil. Sodium is the predominant soluble cation in most saline
soil water, particularly coastal areas. Ameliorating the soil salinity in agricultural habitats
is an effective way to allow crop cultivation. A biological approach to solve this problem
has been realised through studies made on Anabaena torulosa. It is a blue green alga
which grows and enriches the nitrogen status of moderately saline soils. A.torulosa was
found not to intracellularly accumulate Na+ but entrap the cation in its extracellular

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mucopolysaccharide sheath, thereby reducing the availability of this deltrious cation to
the crop.

Waste water treatment by bioremediation.

Wastewater is any water that has been adversely affected in quality by human activities.
It comprises liquid waste discharged by domestic residences, commercial properties,
industry, and/or agriculture and can encompass a wide range of potential contaminants
and concentrations.

Treatment of domestic wastewater

A scientist named Lettinga of Wageningen University, the Netherlands, developed the

upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) technology to treat industrial and domestic
wastewater. Today, his technology is used across the world and even in the developing
countries, including India. Lettinga technology is used in more than 70 per cent of
anaerobic wastewater treatment by different industries. It was originally designed to treat
wastewater of the sugar-beet industry in the Netherlands.

Treatment of wastewater is made using anaerobic bacteria. The bacteria are chosen
because they exhibit very special characteristics of forming granules (pellets) of 0.5 to 2
mm diameter. The bacteria encapsulate the wastewater substances that are to be
degraded. The heavy granules settle to the bottom despite the wastewater moving in an
upward direction.

The anaerobic degradation produces methane gas as a by-product. It is produced at the

end of a four-stage process of hydrolysis, acidogenesis, acetogenesis, and finally the
methanogenesis. In the methanogenesis, carbondioxide and water are produced in
addition to water. This gas moves upward, enhancing the mixing of the wastewater
present in the tank

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Industrial wastewater treatment

Tannery effluent is a major source of aquatic pollution and consists of high

concenetration of chromium. In humans, exposure to chromium salts for periods of 2 to
26 years has been implicated as a cause of cancer of the digestive tract and stomach
cancer. Researchers have isolated a population of P. mendocina and used it for the
reduction of Cr (VI) to Cr (III) in soil. Their results indicate that P. mendocina was able
to immobilize 100 mg kg-1 Cr (VI) in 8 h by reducing it to Cr (III). The Cr (VI) -
contaminated soils, after the microbiological treatment, supported growth of wheat
seedlings without exerting any toxic effects, illustrating the usefulness of the
microbiological treatment in the bioremediation of chromate-contaminated sites.
Thus chromium bioremediation through micro-organism may be the best-suited
technology in present context to clean up Cr contaminated sites and is eco-friendly and
cost effective.

Different experts from different areas of the world have come with ways of degrading
toxic chemical products, released during industrial pollution, into harmless ones using
different types of micro organisms. This is listed below.

1. American scientists came with a species of the bacterium Pseudomonas and a

process for degrading the toxic organic solvents such as benzene, toluene, xylene,
1,2,4-trimethylbenzene, dioxane and cyclohexane. Rhodococcus is another
bacterial species capable of degradation of dioxane, tetrahydrofuran and other
cyclic ethers. Trichosporon is capable of removing phenol and formaldehyde
from waste water
2. Russian scientists came with a new strain of Streptomyces rochei which degrades
chlofinated phenols and use them for the carbon source.
3. Japanese experts found a way to remove tetraalkyl ammonium salts and/or
methylated mines from waste water using Nocardia (Non-bacterial fungal
microorganisms).

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 4. Experts from Taipei discovered a microorganism, Clostridium thermocellum,
which is able to produce alcohol during the decomposition of agricultural waste.
5. Autochthonous yeast and bacteria strains namely Rhodotorula glutinis and
Pseudomonas aeruginosa degrade phenanthrene, a three-ring polycyclic aromatic
hydrocarbon (PAH), as their only source of carbon and energy.

Microorganisms and Global Warming

Microorganisms may have a role in reversing global warming. They may be used to
remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Japanese researchers are investigating the
possibility of using genetically engineered algae to remove carbon dioxide from the
atmosphere and maintain levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide that will not cause global
warming. Already, Japanese researchers have found an alga that has ten times the carbon
dioxide fixing capacity of trees. This would be a novel employment of biotechnology for
the maintenance of global environmental quality.

Biodegradable plastics

Biodegradable plastics are those that will decompose in the natural environment.
Biodegradation of plastics can be achieved by enabling micro organisms in the
environment to metabolise the molecular structure of plastic films to produce an inert
humus-like material that is less harmful to the environment.

Bioplastics are biodegradable plastics whose components are derived from renewable raw
materials. The use of bio-active compounds compounded with swelling agents ensures
that, when combined with heat and moisture, they expand the plastic's molecular
structure and allow the bio-active compounds to metabolise and neutralize the plastic.
The advantage of biodegradable plastics is that, in the proper conditions (sun, moisture,
oxygen, etc), the plastics degrade to the point where organisms can digest them. This
reduces problems with litter and reduces harmful effects on wildlife.

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Conclusion

The world is entering a very critical time where the shortage of potable water, the
burdens of human population, and the cumulative effects of manmade pollution are
degrading every ecosystem. Safe alternatives must be deployed to clean up pollution,
improve land use, and increase the availability of higher-quality water supplies.
Techniques used by industry, agriculture, and municipalities have to change. Micro-
organisms offer perhaps the greatest promise for turning the situation around.

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