Faculty of Applied Sciences and Biotechnology, Shoolini University of Biotechnology and Management Sciences, Solan, Himachal Pradesh

 In recent times deaths and deformities caused due to organophosphate poisoning has emerged as a very serious problem all across the globe with approximately 3 million poisoning and 200000 deaths annually. Chlorpyrifos, one of the most extensively used insecticides is also neurotoxic upon prolonged exposure as it inhibits the normal activity of the enzyme acetylcholine esterase needed for proper nervous transmission. Initially, it was not expected to be toxic to plants but there have been numerous reports citing that it has adversely affected a lot of plants like alfalfa, clover, Arabidopsis thaliana and Pinus halepensis. Damage caused to the environment and health by the concomitant use of this insecticide makes it imperative to develop strategies and techniques to carry out their elimination in a safe, efficient and economical manner. Bioremediation is a cost effective approach that uses microbes to remove pollutants. Various techniques and strategies of bioremediation e.g. phytoremediation enhanced by endophytic microorganisms, rhizoremediation have been employed in recent times to remove hazardous waste from the biosphere. Here, in this review we have discussed the different aspects of bioremediation and as to how the endophytic bacteria are naturally genetically tailored to metabolize and degrade such xenobiotic compounds.

Keywords: Bioremediation, Chlorpyrifos, Endophytes, Organophosphorous compounds, Biofertilizer.