Understanding the role of bacterial genes and enzymes in organophosphate degradation: a step towards enhanced bioremediation

The use of Organophosphates (OPs) as pesticides and insecticides increased after world war II, although organophosphates (OPs) are comparatively less persistent in the environment, but are highly toxic to animals. OP toxicity is causing a threat to biodiversity, hence it becomes essential to deal with the degradation of such compounds. Various techniques like photolysis, and chemical degradation have been used for OP degradation but these techniques are not costeffective and require ex-situ treatment, hence bioremediation is considered a potential alternative for OP degradation. Understanding the degradation pathways followed by different bacteria, genes and enzymes involved in such pathways can act as a step towards the development of an effective bioremediation technique for OP degradation. Recombinant biotechnology and protein engineering are used to develop designer bacteria, biocatalysts and enzymes with enhanced activity for OP-degrading bacteria. The present review highlights the bacterial degradation pathways, genes and enzymes involved in bioremediation pathways and new approaches for the development of OP bioremediation techniques.