Biorefinery and Bioremediation Strategies for Efficient Management of Recalcitrant Pollutants Using Termites as an Obscure yet Promising Source of Bacterial Gut Symbionts: A Review

Lignocellulosic biomass (LCB) in the form of agricultural, forestry, and agro-industrial wastes is globally generated in large volumes every year. The chemical components of LCB render them a substrate valuable for biofuel production. It is hard to dissolve LCB resources for biofuel production becau...

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Main Authors: Rongrong Xie, Blessing Danso, Jianzhong Sun, Majid Al-Zahrani, Mudasir A. Dar, Rania Al-Tohamy, Sameh S. Ali
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-11-01
Series:Insects
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/15/11/908
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author Rongrong Xie
Blessing Danso
Jianzhong Sun
Majid Al-Zahrani
Mudasir A. Dar
Rania Al-Tohamy
Sameh S. Ali
author_facet Rongrong Xie
Blessing Danso
Jianzhong Sun
Majid Al-Zahrani
Mudasir A. Dar
Rania Al-Tohamy
Sameh S. Ali
author_sort Rongrong Xie
collection DOAJ
description Lignocellulosic biomass (LCB) in the form of agricultural, forestry, and agro-industrial wastes is globally generated in large volumes every year. The chemical components of LCB render them a substrate valuable for biofuel production. It is hard to dissolve LCB resources for biofuel production because the lignin, cellulose, and hemicellulose parts stick together rigidly. This makes the structure complex, hierarchical, and resistant. Owing to these restrictions, the junk production of LCB waste has recently become a significant worldwide environmental problem resulting from inefficient disposal techniques and increased persistence. In addition, burning LCB waste, such as paddy straws, is a widespread practice that causes considerable air pollution and endangers the environment and human existence. Besides environmental pollution from LCB waste, increasing industrialization has resulted in the production of billions of tons of dyeing wastewater from several industries, including textiles, pharmaceuticals, tanneries, and food processing units. The massive use of synthetic dyes in various industries can be detrimental to the environment due to the recalcitrant aromatic structure of synthetic dyes, similar to the polymeric phenol lignin in LCB structure, and their persistent color. Synthetic dyes have been described as possessing carcinogenic and toxic properties that could be harmful to public health. Environmental pollution emanating from LCB wastes and dyeing wastewater is of great concern and should be carefully handled to mitigate its catastrophic effects. An effective strategy to curtail these problems is to learn from analogous systems in nature, such as termites, where woody lignocellulose is digested by wood-feeding termites and humus-recalcitrant aromatic compounds are decomposed by soil-feeding termites. The termite gut system acts as a unique bioresource consisting of distinct bacterial species valued for the processing of lignocellulosic materials and the degradation of synthetic dyes, which can be integrated into modern biorefineries for processing LCB waste and bioremediation applications for the treatment of dyeing wastewaters to help resolve environmental issues arising from LCB waste and dyeing wastewaters. This review paper provides a new strategy for efficient management of recalcitrant pollutants by exploring the potential application of termite gut bacteria in biorefinery and bioremediation processing.
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spelling doaj-art-059d70b1e78b4529b4e36d7b0330b3762025-08-20T02:48:02ZengMDPI AGInsects2075-44502024-11-01151190810.3390/insects15110908Biorefinery and Bioremediation Strategies for Efficient Management of Recalcitrant Pollutants Using Termites as an Obscure yet Promising Source of Bacterial Gut Symbionts: A ReviewRongrong Xie0Blessing Danso1Jianzhong Sun2Majid Al-Zahrani3Mudasir A. Dar4Rania Al-Tohamy5Sameh S. Ali6Biofuels Institute, School of the Environment and Safety Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, ChinaBiofuels Institute, School of the Environment and Safety Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, ChinaBiofuels Institute, School of the Environment and Safety Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, ChinaBiological Sciences Department, College of Science and Art at Rabigh, King Abdulaziz University, Rabigh 25732, Saudi ArabiaBiofuels Institute, School of the Environment and Safety Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, ChinaBiofuels Institute, School of the Environment and Safety Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, ChinaBiofuels Institute, School of the Environment and Safety Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, ChinaLignocellulosic biomass (LCB) in the form of agricultural, forestry, and agro-industrial wastes is globally generated in large volumes every year. The chemical components of LCB render them a substrate valuable for biofuel production. It is hard to dissolve LCB resources for biofuel production because the lignin, cellulose, and hemicellulose parts stick together rigidly. This makes the structure complex, hierarchical, and resistant. Owing to these restrictions, the junk production of LCB waste has recently become a significant worldwide environmental problem resulting from inefficient disposal techniques and increased persistence. In addition, burning LCB waste, such as paddy straws, is a widespread practice that causes considerable air pollution and endangers the environment and human existence. Besides environmental pollution from LCB waste, increasing industrialization has resulted in the production of billions of tons of dyeing wastewater from several industries, including textiles, pharmaceuticals, tanneries, and food processing units. The massive use of synthetic dyes in various industries can be detrimental to the environment due to the recalcitrant aromatic structure of synthetic dyes, similar to the polymeric phenol lignin in LCB structure, and their persistent color. Synthetic dyes have been described as possessing carcinogenic and toxic properties that could be harmful to public health. Environmental pollution emanating from LCB wastes and dyeing wastewater is of great concern and should be carefully handled to mitigate its catastrophic effects. An effective strategy to curtail these problems is to learn from analogous systems in nature, such as termites, where woody lignocellulose is digested by wood-feeding termites and humus-recalcitrant aromatic compounds are decomposed by soil-feeding termites. The termite gut system acts as a unique bioresource consisting of distinct bacterial species valued for the processing of lignocellulosic materials and the degradation of synthetic dyes, which can be integrated into modern biorefineries for processing LCB waste and bioremediation applications for the treatment of dyeing wastewaters to help resolve environmental issues arising from LCB waste and dyeing wastewaters. This review paper provides a new strategy for efficient management of recalcitrant pollutants by exploring the potential application of termite gut bacteria in biorefinery and bioremediation processing.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/15/11/908bioremediationrecalcitrant pollutantslignocellulose-degrading bacteriawaste managementtermite gut symbiontstextile dye wastewater
spellingShingle Rongrong Xie
Blessing Danso
Jianzhong Sun
Majid Al-Zahrani
Mudasir A. Dar
Rania Al-Tohamy
Sameh S. Ali
Biorefinery and Bioremediation Strategies for Efficient Management of Recalcitrant Pollutants Using Termites as an Obscure yet Promising Source of Bacterial Gut Symbionts: A Review
Insects
bioremediation
recalcitrant pollutants
lignocellulose-degrading bacteria
waste management
termite gut symbionts
textile dye wastewater
title Biorefinery and Bioremediation Strategies for Efficient Management of Recalcitrant Pollutants Using Termites as an Obscure yet Promising Source of Bacterial Gut Symbionts: A Review
title_full Biorefinery and Bioremediation Strategies for Efficient Management of Recalcitrant Pollutants Using Termites as an Obscure yet Promising Source of Bacterial Gut Symbionts: A Review
title_fullStr Biorefinery and Bioremediation Strategies for Efficient Management of Recalcitrant Pollutants Using Termites as an Obscure yet Promising Source of Bacterial Gut Symbionts: A Review
title_full_unstemmed Biorefinery and Bioremediation Strategies for Efficient Management of Recalcitrant Pollutants Using Termites as an Obscure yet Promising Source of Bacterial Gut Symbionts: A Review
title_short Biorefinery and Bioremediation Strategies for Efficient Management of Recalcitrant Pollutants Using Termites as an Obscure yet Promising Source of Bacterial Gut Symbionts: A Review
title_sort biorefinery and bioremediation strategies for efficient management of recalcitrant pollutants using termites as an obscure yet promising source of bacterial gut symbionts a review
topic bioremediation
recalcitrant pollutants
lignocellulose-degrading bacteria
waste management
termite gut symbionts
textile dye wastewater
url https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/15/11/908
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