Engineering bacteria for bioremediation

The treatment of environmental pollution by microorganisms is a promising t echnology. Various genetic approaches have been developed and used to optim ize the enzymes, metabolic pathways and organisms relevant for biodegradati on, New information on the metabolic routes and bottlenecks of degradation is still accumulating. enlarging the available toolbox. With molecular meth ods allowing the characterization of microbial community structure and acti vities, the performance of microorganisms under in situ conditions and in c oncert with the indigenous microflora will become predictable.