Microbiological Metabolism Under Chemical Stress

The studies of microbial tolerance to chemicals are significant with respect to biotechnological applications. Interestingly, microbes encounter chemicals in their environment as stressors as well as carbon sources. There are a number of reports where bacteria in the presence of chemicals (like toluene)have expressed a stress response transcript network together with expression of genes for biodegradation. Therefore, pollutants (chemicals)released to the surrounding environment create microbial biodegradation under stress conditions. Adaptation of microbes under various stressful environmental conditions is through adjustments in their metabolic network. Metabolites, substrates, and their impurities can disrupt biological processes; several microbial bioprocesses related to production of chemicals or fuels are encountered by stress due to them. These objectives stimulate new synthetic biological approaches and detailed knowledge of stress-related genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, efflux pumps, membrane fluidity, energy, and detoxification pathways. This understanding of chemical tolerance assists in the development of stress-resistant microbes with industrial and environmental biodegradation prominence. Therefore, the present chapter focuses on the physiological changes and stress responses of bacteria to chemical stress. © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.