Microbes and their Genes involved in Bioremediation of Petroleum Hydrocarbon

The catastrophic effect of petroleum contamination on the environment is a severe problem of global concern. Bioremediation is probably the easiest and most cost-effective way to treat the contaminants. Several microorganisms ranging from bacteria, fungi, yeast, algae, etc., are known for their ability to biodegrade different hydrocarbons. Hydrocarbon degrading microorganisms are largely known for the release of biosurfactants and other surface-active biopolymers, which decrease the surface tension of oil particles into smaller entities for their easy degradation throughout the respective metabolic cycle. Such biopolymers are encoded by several genes and operon systems which are discussed briefly in this chapter. Information on such genes help in better understanding the molecular events involved in the microbial bioremediation of petroleum hydrocarbon.