Integrated Metagenomic Insight into Microbial Dye Degradation

Bioremediation is a promising technology that can be established for the removal of toxic dyes from the contaminated environment. However, the cultivation of microbes from the toxic environment, followed by their evaluation of dye-degradation ability, is a cumbersome process. Culture-dependent microbial dye degradation often is unable to elucidate information about the microbial dynamics involved in the degradation of pollutants in the environment. Integrated metagenomics, on the other hand, can provide useful insights into the role of microorganisms that are responsible for dye degradation. Hence, this chapter provides useful insights into the integrated metagenomics approach for unravelling the complexity and diversity of the microbial communities that are capable of dye degradation. Degradation of toxic dyes such as reactive black 5, direct black G, malachite green, and others by various microflora is investigated by metagenomics for understanding the mechanisms of remediation. Further, the functional and structural characteristics of these microbial consortia in response to dye degradation are also assessed. Hence, further consideration of the suitable and adapted microbial biomass waste from the evaluation of metagenomics-based microflora can provide an efficient way to fabricate unique microbial consortia that could help in enhanced dye degradation.