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Extremophiles, a Nifty Tool to Face Environmental Pollution: From Exploitation of Metabolism to Genome Engineering

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  • Giovanni Gallo

    (Department of Biology, University of Naples Federico II, Via Cinthia 21, 80126 Napoli, Italy
    Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche CNR, Institute of Polymers, Composites and Biomaterials (IPCB), Via Campi Flegrei, 34, 80078 Pozzuoli, Italy)

  • Rosanna Puopolo

    (Department of Biology, University of Naples Federico II, Via Cinthia 21, 80126 Napoli, Italy)

  • Miriam Carbonaro

    (Department of Biology, University of Naples Federico II, Via Cinthia 21, 80126 Napoli, Italy)

  • Emanuela Maresca

    (Department of Biology, University of Naples Federico II, Via Cinthia 21, 80126 Napoli, Italy)

  • Gabriella Fiorentino

    (Department of Biology, University of Naples Federico II, Via Cinthia 21, 80126 Napoli, Italy
    Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche CNR, Institute of Polymers, Composites and Biomaterials (IPCB), Via Campi Flegrei, 34, 80078 Pozzuoli, Italy)

Abstract

Extremophiles are microorganisms that populate habitats considered inhospitable from an anthropocentric point of view and are able to tolerate harsh conditions such as high temperatures, extreme pHs, high concentrations of salts, toxic organic substances, and/or heavy metals. These microorganisms have been broadly studied in the last 30 years and represent precious sources of biomolecules and bioprocesses for many biotechnological applications; in this context, scientific efforts have been focused on the employment of extremophilic microbes and their metabolic pathways to develop biomonitoring and bioremediation strategies to face environmental pollution, as well as to improve biorefineries for the conversion of biomasses into various chemical compounds. This review gives an overview on the peculiar metabolic features of certain extremophilic microorganisms, with a main focus on thermophiles, which make them attractive for biotechnological applications in the field of environmental remediation; moreover, it sheds light on updated genetic systems (also those based on the CRISPR-Cas tool), which expand the potentialities of these microorganisms to be genetically manipulated for various biotechnological purposes.

Suggested Citation

  • Giovanni Gallo & Rosanna Puopolo & Miriam Carbonaro & Emanuela Maresca & Gabriella Fiorentino, 2021. "Extremophiles, a Nifty Tool to Face Environmental Pollution: From Exploitation of Metabolism to Genome Engineering," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(10), pages 1-24, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:10:p:5228-:d:554709
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. United Nations UN, 2015. "Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development," Working Papers id:7559, eSocialSciences.
    2. Rosanna Puopolo & Giovanni Gallo & Angela Mormone & Danila Limauro & Patrizia Contursi & Monica Piochi & Simonetta Bartolucci & Gabriella Fiorentino, 2020. "Identification of a New Heavy-Metal-Resistant Strain of Geobacillus stearothermophilus Isolated from a Hydrothermally Active Volcanic Area in Southern Italy," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(8), pages 1-15, April.
    3. Bala, Anju & Singh, Bijender, 2019. "Cellulolytic and xylanolytic enzymes of thermophiles for the production of renewable biofuels," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 1231-1244.
    4. Olivier Pourret & Andrew Hursthouse, 2019. "It’s Time to Replace the Term “Heavy Metals” with “Potentially Toxic Elements” When Reporting Environmental Research," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(22), pages 1-6, November.
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