Role of Candida in the bioremediation of pollutants: a review

Abstract

The population and modernization of society have increased dramatically from past few decades. In order to meet societal expectations, there has been a massive industrialization and resource exploitation. Anthropogenic practices like disposal of hazardous waste, large carbon footprint release variety of xenobiotic substances into the environment, which endanger the health of the natural ecosystem. Therefore, discovering proper long-term treatment approaches is a global concern. Various physical and chemical approaches are employed to remove contaminants. However, these technologies possess limitations like high cost and low efficacy. Consequently, bioremediation is regarded as one of the most promising remedies to these problems. It creates the option of either totally removing pollutants or transforming them into nonhazardous compounds with the use of natural biological agents. Several microorganisms are being utilized for bioremediation among which yeasts possess benefits such as high biodegradability, ease of cultivation etc. The yeast of Candida genus has the capability to effectively eliminate heavy metal ions, as well as to degrade and emulsify hydrocarbons which makes it a promising candidate for this purpose. The review highlights many potential uses of Candida in various remediation strategies and discusses future directions for research in this field.

Biodegradation and Utilization of the Pesticides Glyphosate and Carbofuran by Two Yeast Strains

“…The field of research related to the ability of yeast to degrade and remove pesticides from the environment has been very sparsely explored [46]. In the publications known to date in this area of scientific interest, some yeast strains have been presented, showing a clear potential to reduce the amount of pesticides in various environments.…”

“…Thay have established themselves as an active participant in the remediation of xenobiotic-contaminated waters and soils [43]. Numerous strains belonging to the genera Candida, Pichia, Rhodotorula, Trichosporon, Yarrowia, and others have been described, successfully degrading aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons, crude oil, and low-density polyethylene [43][44][45][46]. Yeasts have long been known and applied to remove and transform metal ions and various dyes from textile industry wastewater.…”

Microbial communities in petroleum refinery effluents and their complex functions

“…In addition, they can remove heavy metals from polluted refinery waste. Moreover, they have also been capable of degrading hydrocarbons ( Rana et al, 2023 ). Due to the hydrophobic nature and potent emulsification capability of biosurfactants derived from Candida genus yeasts, they are frequently utilized in the decomposition of petroleum and its component compounds, for example, poly aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and alkanes ( Priya et al, 2016 ).…”

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal contribution towards plant resilience to drought conditions

“…modify their microbiomes in response to various stressors, seeking assistance to cope with these challenges (Song and Haney, 2021). The role of yeast in environmental remediation is also well-known (Sarkar et al, 2019;Mukherjee et al, 2020;Ghosh et al, 2023;Rana et al, 2023;Vaksmaa et al, 2023). However, there is a dearth of understanding regarding the involvement of the fungal counterpart, particularly in terms of the mechanisms.…”