An Overview of Nitro Group-Containing Compounds and Herbicides Degradation in Microorganisms

Basically, nitro functional group-containing chemicals have been used to synthesize various useful products like dyes, pesticides and solvents, and also military products and so on. Hence, many nitroaromatics (including nitrophenols) have been continuously released into the environment and appear in the soil and water. Some are known to be toxic due to their great impact on living systems (especially on health). Most such chemicals (nitroaromatic compounds) are listed as priority chemicals by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The vast use of such chemicals and their toxic effects had led to the study of the degradation of nitro group-containing chemicals by microbes (an easily available and cost-effective treatment). In view of this, we discuss the degradation of a few nitro group-containing compounds and herbicide(s) by microorganisms from published literature, and we consider the future perspective.